Invensas CorporationDownload PDFPatent Trials and Appeals BoardNov 12, 2020IPR2020-01732 (P.T.A.B. Nov. 12, 2020) Copy Citation Trials@uspto.gov 571-272-7822 Paper 10 Entered: November 12, 2020 UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE ____________ BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD ____________ SEMICONDUCTOR COMPONENTS INDUSTRIES, LLC d/b/a ON SEMICONDUCTOR, Petitioner, v. TESSERA ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES, INC., Patent Owner. ____________ ____________ IPR2020-01732 Patent 6,317,333 B1 ____________ Before MICHAEL R. ZECHER, TREVOR M. JEFFERSON, and BARBARA A. PARVIS, Administrative Patent Judges. ZECHER, Administrative Patent Judge. DECISION Settlement Prior to Institution of Trial 37 C.F.R. § 42.74 IPR2020-01732 Patent 6,317,333 B1 2 I. DISCUSSION On November 9, 2020, the parties filed the following documents: (1) a Joint Motion to Terminate Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 317 and 37 C.F.R. § 42.72 (Paper 7, “Mot.”); (2) a true copy of the parties’ settlement agreement (Ex. 1025); and (3) a Joint Request to File Settlement Agreement as Business Confidential Information and to Maintain Agreement Separate From the Public File Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 317(b) and 37 C.F.R. § 42.74(c) (Paper 8). For the following reasons, we grant both the parties’ Joint Motion to Terminate and their request to treat the settlement agreement as business confidential information. This proceeding is still in its preliminary stage. Petitioner, Semiconductor Components Industries, LLC d/b/a ON Semiconductor (“ON”), filed a Petition requesting an inter partes review of claims 1 and 2 of U.S. Patent No. 6,317,333 B1 (Ex. 1001, “the ’333 patent”) (Paper 1), along with a Motion for Joinder to IPR2020-00708 (Paper 3). Since ON filed the Petition, Patent Owner, Tessera Advanced Technologies, Inc. (“Tessera”), has not filed a Preliminary Response, Tessera has not filed an Opposition to the Motion for Joinder, and we have not entered a decision whether to institute an inter partes review nor have we entered a decision addressing the Motion for Joinder. In the Joint Motion to Terminate, the parties indicate that they “have resolved their dispute with respect to the ’333 patent, and [they] have agreed to terminate this [proceeding].” Mot. 2. The parties represent that Exhibit 1025 is “a true and complete copy” of an “Agreement and Covenant Not to Sue,” and that “there are no other agreements or understandings, oral or written, between [Tessera] and [ON], including any collateral agreements, made in connection with, or in contemplation of, the termination of [this] proceeding.” Id. at 1. IPR2020-01732 Patent 6,317,333 B1 3 The parties further represent that the ’333 patent is involved in the following two matters: (1) Invensas Corp. and Tessera Advanced Techs., Inc. v. NVIDIA Corp., No. 19-cv-861-RGA (D. Del.) (“district court case”); and (2) IPR2020- 00708 currently pending before the Board. Mot. 2. According to the parties, the district court case has been dismissed with prejudice and the parties in IPR2020- 00708 have filed a Joint Motion to Terminate. Id. at 2–3 (citing NVIDIA Corp. v. Tessera Advanced Techs., Inc., IPR2020-00708, Paper 13 (PTAB Oct. 23, 2020) (Joint Motion to Terminate)). We will be entering a decision granting the Joint Motion to Terminate filed in IPR2020-00708 concurrently. Under these particular circumstances, we determine that it is appropriate to dismiss the Petition without rendering any further decisions, thereby terminating this proceeding. See 37 C.F.R. § 42.71(a). We also have reviewed the true copy of the parties’ settlement agreement, and we determine that good cause exists to treat this settlement agreement as business confidential information, and keep it separate from the file of the ’333 patent, pursuant to 37 C.F.R. § 42.74(c). II. ORDER In consideration of the foregoing, it is hereby: ORDERED that the parties’ request to treat the true copy of their settlement agreement filed in this proceeding (Ex. 1025) as business confidential information, and keep it separate from the file of the ’333 patent, pursuant to 37 C.F.R. § 42.74(c) is granted; and FURTHER ORDERED that the parties’ Joint Motion to Terminate is granted, and the Petition is dismissed resulting in termination of this proceeding. IPR2020-01732 Patent 6,317,333 B1 4 For PETITIONER: Roger Fulghum Brett Thompsen Nick Schuneman Baker Botts LLP roger.fulghum@bakerbotts.com brett.thompsen@bakerbotts.com nick.schuneman@bakerbotts.com For PATENT OWNER: Peter P. Chen David A. Garr Covington & Burling LLP pchen@cov.com dgarr@cov.com Copy with citationCopy as parenthetical citation