Applications in Internet Time, LLC v. RPX Corp.

897 F.3d 1336

APPLICATIONS IN INTERNET TIME, LLC, Appellant

v.RPX CORPORATION, Appellee

2017-1698

2017-1699

2017-1701

United States Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit.

Decided: July 9, 2018

Steven C. Sereboff, SoCal IP Law Group LLP, Westlake Village, CA, argued for appellant.

Michael N. Rader, Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks, PC, New York, NY, argued for appellee. Also represented by Bryan S. Conley, Richard Giunta, Elisabeth Hunt, Boston, MA.

Before O'Malley, Reyna, and Hughes, Circuit Judges.

Opinion for the court filed by Circuit Judge O'Malley, in which Circuit Judge Hughes joins in the judgment.

Concurring opinion filed by Circuit Judge Reyna.

O'Malley, Circuit Judge.

This appeal arises from three inter partes reviews ("IPRs") challenging claims of two patents owned by Appellant Applications in Internet Time, LLC ("AIT"): U.S. Patent Nos. 7,356,482 ("the '482 patent") and 8,484,111 ("the '111 patent"). The Patent Trial and Appeal Board ("Board") of the United States Patent and Trademark Office ("PTO") instituted the IPRs over AIT's objection that the three IPR petitions filed by Appellee RPX Corporation ("RPX") were time-barred under 35 U.S.C. § 315(b) (2012). AIT contended that RPX was acting as a "proxy" for one of its clients, Salesforce.com, Inc. ("Salesforce"), on whom AIT had served a complaint alleging infringement of the '482 and '111 patents more than one year before RPX filed its petitions. Thus, AIT alleged that RPX was not the only real party in interest and that the time bar applicable to Salesforce was equally applicable to RPX. In two final written decisions, the Board held certain claims of the patents unpatentable under 35 U.S.C. § 103. RPX Corp. v. Applications in Internet Time, LLC , Nos. IPR2015–01751, IPR2015–01752, 2016 WL 7985456 (P.T.A.B. Dec. 28, 2016) ( 482 Decision ); RPX Corp. v. Applications in Internet Time, LLC , No. IPR2015-01750, 2016 WL 7991300 (P.T.A.B. Dec. 28, 2016) ( 111 Decision ).

AIT appeals, among other things, the Board's time-bar and unpatentability determinations. For the reasons set forth below, we conclude that the Board applied an unduly restrictive test for determining whether a person or entity is a "real party in interest" within the meaning of § 315(b) and failed to consider the entirety of the evidentiary record in assessing whether § 315(b) barred institution of these IPRs. We accordingly vacate the Board's final written decisions and remand for further proceedings.

I. BACKGROUND

A. The Salesforce Litigation and Failed Covered Business Method Petitions

Salesforce is a software company that offers customer relationship management software to its clients. On November 8, 2013, AIT filed a complaint against Salesforce, asserting infringement of both patents. See Compl., Applications in Internet Time, LLC v. Salesforce.com, Inc. , No. 3:13-cv-00628 (D. Nev. Nov. 8, 2013), ECF No. 1. Salesforce was served with a copy of the complaint on November 20, 2013.

As the district court noted, Salesforce's "right to file a petition with the PTAB seeking [IPR] of the patents in suit expired in November 2014" under 35 U.S.C. § 315(b). Id. Rather than timely petition for IPR of the '482 and '111 patents, Salesforce filed petitions for covered business method ("CBM") review in August 2014. Applications in Internet Time, LLC v. Salesforce.com, Inc. , No. 3:13-cv-00628, 2015 WL 8041794, at *1 (D. Nev. Dec. 4, 2015). The Board denied both CBM petitions in February 2015, concluding that Salesforce failed to establish that the patents are "covered business method patent[s]" within the meaning of the AIA. Salesforce.com, Inc. v. Applications in Internet Time LLC , No. CBM2014-00168, 2015 WL 470747, at *6 (P.T.A.B. Feb. 2, 2015) ; Salesforce.com, Inc. v. Applications in Internet Time LLC , No. CBM2014-00162, 2015 WL 470746, at *7 (P.T.A.B. Feb. 2, 2015).

B. RPX's IPR Petitions and Pre-Institution Discovery

RPX is a public company whose stated "mission is to transform the patent market by establishing RPX as the essential intermediary between patent owners and operating companies." J.A. 31. One of its strategies is "to help members of [its] client network quickly and cost-effectively extricate themselves from [non-practicing entity (‘NPE’) ] lawsuits." J.A. 29. Salesforce is one of RPX's clients.

On August 17, 2015—more than one year after Salesforce was served with copies of AIT's complaint in the Salesforce litigation and several months after Salesforce's CBM petitions were denied—RPX filed three IPR petitions challenging the patentability of claims of the '482 and '111 patents. In each petition, RPX identified itself as the "sole real party-in-interest," and certified that it is not barred or estopped from requesting IPR as to the '482 and '111 patent claims. Moreover, in each petition, RPX acknowledged that the outcome of the IPRs could impact the ongoing Salesforce litigation.

Shortly thereafter, AIT filed motions for additional discovery, in which it asked the Board to compel RPX to produce documents relevant to identifying the real parties in interest. AIT "expect[ed] that the requested discovery, together with additional information, will make a compelling showing that RPX is the agent of un-named third party Salesforce.com, Inc. (Salesforce), thus establishing that the petitions are time-barred under 35 U.S.C. § 315(b)." J.A. 17. RPX opposed the motions. The Board, relying on passages in the PTO's Patent Trial Practice Guide, 77 Fed. Reg. 48,756 (Aug. 14, 2012) ("Trial Practice Guide"), was "persuaded that the combination of factors present here justifie[d] permitting additional discovery on the issue of whether Salesforce is a" real party in interest, and granted in part AIT's motions. J.A. 1068–69.

Over the following weeks, RPX produced documents responsive to certain of AIT's discovery requests. Among these documents are webpages that reveal, among other things, that (1) RPX "is the leading provider of patent risk solutions, offering defensive buying, acquisition syndication, patent intelligence, insurance services, and advisory services," id. at 73; (2) its "interests are 100% aligned with those of [their] clients," id. at 71; (3) RPX "work[s] to ensure that each RPX client avoids more in legal costs and settlements each year than they pay RPX in subscription fees," id. ; and (4) although RPX "prevent[s] patent litigation," it also "can help after a litigation has begun," id. at 72. Another webpage, titled "Client Relations," provides that the company has teams that "vet each possible asset for quality, assertion history, seller reputation, and—especially—likelihood of threat to any or all RPX members." Id. at 28. This same webpage states that RPX's "insight into the patent market allows [it] to serve as an extension of a client's in-house legal team to better inform its long-term IP strategy." Id. Also among the documents produced were RPX's Form 10-K annual report for the period ending December 31, 2013, which lists one of RPX's "[s]trateg[ies]" as "facilitati[ng] ... challenges to patent validity...." Id. at 30–31. Other documents reveal that RPX and Salesforce share a member on their respective boards of directors. Id. at 32–36.

In addition to the foregoing, RPX produced three documents containing confidential information that are relevant to this appeal. The first, titled "Validity Challenge Identification Process and Best Practices" ("Best Practices Guide"), sets forth the company's "best practices" for identifying patents whose validity it will challenge in an IPR. Id. at 80–81. The document, which was created on July 9, 2014, id. at 1227 ¶ 14, provides that "RPX best practices help ensure that RPX is complying with all contractual obligations and to ensure that RPX is and will be deemed by the PTAB and district courts as the sole real party-in-interest in all validity challenges unless another real party-in-interest is expressly identified." Id. at 80. RPX's best practices (1) expressly discourage the company from taking suggestions from third parties, including clients, regarding validity challenges; (2) provide that it will not discuss forthcoming validity challenges with third parties in advance of filing; and (3) mandate that RPX will not discuss strategy or take feedback on pending validity challenges, and will "maintain complete control of all aspects of pending validity challenges." Id. This document further explains that "[a] validity challenge identification team ... will identify potential validity challenges to propose to the Validity Challenge Approval Committee," and "will identify potential candidates based, in part, on" multiple factors. Id. at 80–81.

The second document is a declaration from RPX's Vice President of Client Relations, William W. Chuang, in which Chuang testified as to the reasons RPX files IPRs, the process that led to RPX's filing of the IPR petitions in this case, and RPX's interactions with Salesforce. Chuang testified that "RPX has many reasons for filing IPR petitions," including (1) reducing patent risk to an industry of companies, including current and potential clients; (2) decreasing the number of plainly invalid patents, which undermines confidence in the general patent market and might cause current and prospective clients to question whether they should pay subscription fees to RPX; (3) providing leverage in negotiating reasonable prices for acquiring patent rights and removing them from the hands of NPEs; and (4) conveying to the industry that RPX, unlike certain of its competitors, "uses every available method to reduce patent risk efficiently." J.A. 1223–26 ¶¶ 5–10.

Chuang also averred that RPX followed its Best Practices Guide in deciding to file the three IPR petitions in this case, and that it accordingly "had no communication with Salesforce whatsoever regarding the filing of IPR petitions against the AIT Patents before the AIT IPRs were filed." J.A. 1229 ¶ 20. He testified that "RPX originally looked at the AIT Patents after the...