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UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
____________
BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
____________
NOKIA SOLUTIONS AND NETWORKS US LLC; AND NOKIA SOLUTIONS
AND NETWORKS OY,
Petitioners
v.
HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO. LTD.,
Patent Owner
____________
Case: IPR2017-00658
U.S. Patent No. 8,537,779
____________
PETITIONERS’ EXHIBIT NO. NSN779-1003
DECLARATION OF MARK LANNING
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page i
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 1
II. PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND .......................................................... 1
III. SCOPE OF THE ENGAGEMENT............................................................ 4
IV. PERSON OF ORDINARY SKILL IN THE ART..................................... 8
V. LEGAL UNDERSTANDINGS................................................................... 9Claim Interpretation............................................................................. 9Prior Art............................................................................................. 11Anticipation ....................................................................................... 11Obviousness....................................................................................... 12
Motivation to Combine ........................................................... 14Secondary Considerations ....................................................... 16
Date of Invention............................................................................... 17
VI. OVERVIEW OF THE ’779 PATENT ..................................................... 18
VII. BACKGROUND OF TECHNOLOGY.................................................... 19The 4G LTE Cellular Network .......................................................... 19The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (“3GPP”) Standards ........... 19
3GPP Organization.................................................................. 193GPP Documentation .............................................................. 21
3GPP-based Network Architectures at the Time of thePurported Invention ........................................................................... 23
The Evolution from 2G Networks to 3G Networks................. 23The Evolution to 4G LTE Networks ....................................... 284G LTE Network Elements ..................................................... 30
The Attach Procedure ........................................................................ 322G Attach Procedure ............................................................... 333G Attach Procedure ............................................................... 334G Attach Procedure ............................................................... 374G Handover Attach Procedure from non-3GPP (Wi-Fi)to 3GPP ................................................................................... 42
VIII. THE ’779 PATENT ................................................................................... 49Introduction ....................................................................................... 49Prosecution History of the Application Leading to the ’779Patent................................................................................................. 54
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page ii
Priority Documents.................................................................. 55Chinese PCT Filing ................................................................. 55USPTO Examination............................................................... 57
Challenged Claims of the ’779 Patent ............................................... 65Priority Date ...................................................................................... 66
IX. CLAIM INTERPRETATION OF THE ’779 PATENT ......................... 66“Create Bearer Request message” in Claim 4.................................... 67“obtaining unit,” “identifying unit,” and “processing unit” inclaim 11 ............................................................................................. 70
X. COUNT 1: OBVIOUSNESS OF CLAIMS 1, 4, 9–10, AND 11BASED ON THE ADMITTED PRIOR ART IN VIEW OFSODERBACKA ......................................................................................... 73
’779 Admitted Prior Art—Chinese Priority Application(NSN779-1002, pgs. 1019–40).......................................................... 73Soderbacka et al., US 2003/0114158 (NSN779-1007) ...................... 79Motivation to Combine the ’779 Admitted Prior Art withSoderbacka ........................................................................................ 84Reasons to Consider Soderbacka....................................................... 88Limitation-by-Limitation Obviousness Analysis............................... 88
Method for Handover Processing (Elements 1preamble)........ 89Network Element (Element 11preamble) ................................ 91Attach Request Message Sent During Handover(Elements 1a & 11a)................................................................ 92Information Element Indicating Handover (Elements 1b,11b, and 11c) ........................................................................... 95PDN GW Address/Identity (Elements 1c, 11d, 9, 10)............. 99Bearer Creation Procedure (Elements 1d, 11e, 4preamble,4b) ......................................................................................... 102Create Bearer Request message (Element 4a) ....................... 104
XI. COUNT 2: OBVIOUSNESS OF CLAIMS 1, 4, 9–10, AND 11BASED ON THE ’779 ADMITTED PRIOR ART IN VIEW OFTDOC S2-072255 (“THE NOKIA SUBMISSION”) ............................. 105
’779 Admitted Prior Art—Chinese Priority Application(NSN779-1002, pgs. 1019–40)........................................................ 105TDoc S2-072255 (“the Nokia Submission”) (NSN779-1008)......... 112Motivation to Combine the Admitted Prior Art with the NokiaSubmission ...................................................................................... 118Limitation-by-Limitation Obviousness Analysis............................. 122
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page iii
Method for Handover Processing (Elements 1preamble)...... 123Network Element (Element 11preamble) .............................. 125Attach Request Message Sent During Handover(Elements 1a & 11a).............................................................. 126Information Element Indicating Handover (Elements 1b,11b & 11c)............................................................................. 129PDN GW Address/Identity (Elements 1c, 11c, 9, 10) ........... 134Bearer Creation Procedure (Elements 1d, 11e, 4preamble,4b) ......................................................................................... 137Create Bearer Request message (Element 4a) ....................... 139
XII. COUNT 3: OBVIOUSNESS OF CLAIMS 1, 4, 9–10, AND 11BASED ON TDOC S2-072252 (“THE MOTOROLASUBMISSION”) IN VIEW OF TDOC S2-072255 (“THE NOKIASUBMISSION”)....................................................................................... 140
TDoc S2-072252 (“the Motorola Submission”) (NSN779-1009).... 140TDoc S2-072255 (“the Nokia Submission”) (NSN779-1008)......... 150Motivation to Combine the Motorola Submission with theNokia Submission............................................................................ 156Limitation-by-Limitation Obviousness Analysis............................. 161
Method for Handover Processing (Elements 1preamble)...... 161Network Element (Element 11preamble) .............................. 163Attach Request Message Sent During Handover(Elements 1a & 11a).............................................................. 164Information Element Indicating Handover (Elements 1b,11b and 11c) .......................................................................... 166PDN GW Address/Identity (Elements 1c, 11c, 9, 10) ........... 172Bearer Creation Procedure (Elements 1d, 11e, 4preamble,4b) ......................................................................................... 174Create Bearer Request message (Element 4a) ....................... 178
XIII. COUNT 4: OBVIOUSNESS OF CLAIMS 1, 4, 9–10, AND 11BASED ON TDOC S2-072252 (“THE MOTOROLASUBMISSION”) IN VIEW OF SODERBACKA .................................. 179
TDoc S2-072252 (“the Motorola Submission”) (NSN779-1009).... 179Soderbacka et al., US 2003/0114158 (NSN779-1007) .................... 189Motivation to Combine the Motorola Submission withSoderbacka ...................................................................................... 194Limitation-by-Limitation Obviousness Analysis............................. 198
Method for Handover Processing (Elements 1preamble)...... 198
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page iv
Network Element (Element 11preamble) .............................. 200Attach Request Message Sent During Handover(Elements 1a & 11a).............................................................. 201Information Element Indicating Handover (Elements 1b,11b and 11c) .......................................................................... 204PDN GW Address/Identity (Elements 1c, 11d, 9, 10)........... 208Bearer Creation Procedure (Elements 1d, 11e, 4preamble,4b) ......................................................................................... 211Create Bearer Request message (Element 4a) ....................... 215
XIV. NO SECONDARY CONSIDERATIONS OF NON-OBVIOUSNESS....................................................................................... 216
XV. CONCLUSION ........................................................................................ 217
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 1
I. INTRODUCTION
1. My name is Mark R. Lanning. I have been asked by Petitioners to
provide my expert opinions in support of the above-captioned petition for inter
partes review of Patent No. 8,537,779 (“the ’779 Patent”), challenging the validity
of claims 1, 4, 9–10, and 11 of the ’779 Patent.
2. Specifically, I have been asked to provide testimony as to what one of
ordinary skill in the art would have understood with respect to the patent at issue
and various prior art. I provide this testimony below.
II. PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND
3. I have personal knowledge of the facts contained in this Declaration,
am of legal age, and am otherwise competent to testify.
4. I have extensive experience in the field of telecommunications
including: circuit-switched networks; multiple generations of cellular networks;
and packet-switched networks.
5. Further detail on my education, work experience, and the cases in
which I have previously given testimony in at least the past four years is contained
in my curriculum vitae (CV) included as Exhibit NSN779-1024.
6. I am currently the president of two consulting companies: Telecom
Architects, Inc. and Reticle Consulting, LLC. Telecom Architects provides
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 2
consulting services to fixed and wireless telecom service providers and their
equipment suppliers. I have been President of Telecom Architects since 1999.
7. I have over 38 years’ experience working in the telecommunications
industry that began in the U.S. Army Signal Corp. My experience relevant to this
case includes my work as an architect of various telecommunications systems and
my work developing equipment used in telecommunications systems. This
experience includes extensive design, implementation, and testing work on the
wireless interface functionality (between the base station and mobile phones) for
multiple generations of cellular standards.
8. I received a Bachelor’s of Science in Computer Science from
Southern Methodist University (SMU) in 1983.
9. Digital Switch Corporation (DSC), now a part of Alcatel, hired me in
1983 where I was a software development manager on the team responsible for
converting DSC’s PSTN telephone switch into a Mobile Switching Center (MSC)
for Motorola to sell as a part of their cellular product in the U.S. and many other
countries.
10. In 1991, I began working as a consultant to Motorola for its
“SuperCell” base station product and as a consultant to British Telecom to upgrade
its current analog cellular network. I was one of the network architects responsible
for the design and rollout of British Telecom’s Global System for Mobile
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 3
Communications (GSM) network known as Cellnet. Beginning in the early 1990s,
I was responsible for implementation of the Short Message Service (SMS) service,
including working with suppliers of the SMS Center (SMSC), Mobile Switching
Centers (MSCs) and cellular phones to define and roll out the functionality that
was to be provided.
11. I worked personally with Nokia, Ericsson, Motorola and other
equipment suppliers in this effort.
12. Since 1995, I have also provided second generation (2G) and third
generation (3G) Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network architecture and
equipment design and implementation consulting services to companies such as
Sprint, Nextel, Nokia, and Ericsson. While consulting to Nextel, which has since
become part of Sprint, as one of the network architects for its iDEN network, one
of my responsibilities was to define the network and mobile phone functionality
required to support the Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) and advanced data
communications capability.
13. I am a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
(IEEE), including the IEEE Standards Association. I am also a member of the
Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). While employed at DSC, I was a
member of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) T1 and T1X1
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 4
standard groups responsible for the definition and standardization of the Advanced
Intelligent Network (AIN) and Signaling System 7 (SS7) protocol.
III. SCOPE OF THE ENGAGEMENT
14. I have been retained by Alston & Bird LLP on behalf of Nokia
Solutions and Networks US LLC and Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy
(“Petitioners”) to provide analysis and opinions in connection with U.S. Patent No.
8,537,779. I have also been asked to evaluate whether one of ordinary skill in the
art at the time of the invention would have considered certain technologies and
prior art to be relevant or material to determining the validity of the claims at issue.
15. My opinions are based on my experience, knowledge, and the
information I have reviewed as of the date of this report. In connection with my
analysis, I have reviewed everything in the exhibit table below:
Exhibit Short Name Description
NSN779-1001 ’779 Patent U.S. Patent No. 8,537,779
NSN779-1002’779
Application FileHistory
File History of U.S. Patent No. 8,537,779(Appl. No. 12/581,575)
NSN779-1004Bertenyi
DeclarationDeclaration of Balazs Bertenyi under 37C.F.R. § 1.68
NSN779-1005Newton’sDictionary
Newton’s Telecom Dictionary (18th ed.2002)
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 5
Exhibit Short Name Description
NSN779-1006Patent Owner’sDistrict Court
Complaint
Huawei Techs. Co. Ltd. v. T-Mobile US, Inc.,2:16-cv-00056, D.I. 1 (E.D. Tex. Jan. 15,2016)
NSN779-1007 Soderbacka
U.S. Printed Patent Application Number US2003/0114158 to inventors Lauri Soderbacka,Jarmo Virtanen, Kari Kauranen, HannuHietalahti, Jari Liukkonen, and AnttiPitkamaki, titled “Intersystem Handover of aMobile Terminal”
NSN779-1008Nokia
Submission
3GPP TSG SA Meeting #57, TDoc S2-072255, GPRS functionality for IMSemergency services support, submitted byNokia Siemens Networks and Nokia,available as “S2-072255.zip” athttp://www.3gpp.org/ftp/tsg_sa/WG2_Arch/TSGS2_57_Beijing/Docs/ (uploaded 4/27/2007at 9:29 AM)
NSN779-1009Motorola
Submission
3GPP TSG SA WG2 Architecture – S2#57,TDoc S2-072252, Handover from non-3GPPAccess to E-UTRAN (TS 23.402), submittedby Motorola, available as “S2-072252.zip” athttp://www.3gpp.org/ftp/tsg_sa/WG2_Arch/TSGS2_57_Beijing/Docs/ (uploaded 4/27/2007at 9:28 AM)
NSN779-1010S2#57 Meeting
Report
3GPP TSG SA WG2 Architecture—S2#57,Report of SA WG2 meeting #57 (April 23-27,2007), available as“Approved_Report_v100_SA2_57.zip” athttp://www.3gpp.org/ftp/tsg_sa/WG2_Arch/TSGS2_57_Beijing/Report/ (uploaded6/23/2009)
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 6
Exhibit Short Name Description
NSN779-1011S2#57 Attendee
List
List of Registered Attendees, MeetingSA2#57, available athttp://webapp.etsi.org/3GPPRegistration/fViewPart.asp?mid=26044 (last accessed1/9/2017)
NSN779-1012Huawei
Submission
3GPP TSG SA WG2 Architecture – S2#58,TDoc S2-072558, Attach Type in attachprocedure, submitted by Huawei, available as“S2-072558.zip” athttp://www.3gpp.org/ftp/tsg_sa/WG2_Arch/TSGS2_58_Orlando/Docs/ (uploaded6/19/2007 at 12:59 PM)
NSN779-1013Nokia-Huawei
Submission
3GPP TSG SA WG2 Meeting #61, TDoc S2-075847, Principle of differentiating InitialAttach and Handover Attach to EPS via LTEor non-3GPP IP Access, submitted by NokiaSiemens Networks, Nokia, and Huawei,available as “S2-075847.zip” athttp://www.3gpp.org/ftp/tsg_sa/WG2_Arch/TSGS2_61_Ljubljana/Docs/ (uploaded11/16/2007 at 4:17 PM)
NSN779-1014Ericsson
Submission
3GPP TSG SA Architecture – S2#57, TDocS2-071738, GW selection for LTE and non-3GPP accesses, submitted by Ericsson,available as “S2-071738.zip” athttp://www.3gpp.org/ftp/tsg_sa/WG2_Arch/TSGS2_57_Beijing/Docs/ (uploaded 4/18/2007at 1:33 PM)
NSN779-1015 About 3GPP
About 3GPP Home, 3GPP: A GlobalInitiative, available athttp://www.3gpp.org/about-3gpp/about-3gpp(last accessed 1/10/2017)
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 7
Exhibit Short Name Description
NSN779-10163GPP
Delegates’Corner
Delegates Corner, 3GPP: A Global Initiative,available athttp://www.3gpp.org/specifications-groups/delegates-corner (last accessed1/10/2017)
NSN779-1017 3GPP FAQ
3GPP FAQs, 3GPP: A Global Initiative,available athttp://www.3gpp.org/contact/3gpp-faqs (lastaccessed 1/10/2017)
NSN779-1018S2#57
Document List
3GPP Public FTP File Server TSG S2#57Document List, available athttp://www.3gpp.org/ftp/tsg_sa/WG2_Arch/TSGS2_57_Beijing/Docs/ (last accessed1/9/2017)
NSN779-1019 TS 23.060
3GPP TS 23.060 V4.6.0 (2009-09), 3rdGeneration Partnership Project; TechnicalSpecification Group Services and SystemAspects; General Packet Radio Service(GPRS); Service description; Stage 2(Release 4), available athttps://portal.3gpp.org/desktopmodules/Specifications/SpecificationDetails.aspx?specificationId=758 (uploaded 10/2/2002)
NSN779-1020 * * *European File History of InternationalApplication Number PCT/CN2008/070909
NSN779-1021 TS 23.401
3GPP TS 23.401 V0.4.1 (2007-04), 3rdGeneration Partnership Project; TechnicalSpecification Group Services and SystemAspects; GPRS enhancements for E-UTRANaccess (Release 8), available athttps://portal.3gpp.org/desktopmodules/Specifications/SpecificationDetails.aspx?specificationId=849 (uploaded 4/16/2007)
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 8
Exhibit Short Name Description
NSN779-1023Joint Claim
ConstructionChart
Huawei Techs. Co. Ltd. v. T-Mobile US, Inc.,2:16-cv-00056, D.I. 110 (E.D. Tex. Dec. 08,2016)
NSN779-1027TS 24.008
3GPP TS 24.008 V7.7.0 (2007-03), 3rdGeneration Partnership Project; TechnicalSpecification Group Core Network andTerminals; Mobile radio interface Layer 3specification; Core network protocols’ Stage3 (Release 7), available athttps://portal.3gpp.org/desktopmodules/Specifications/SpecificationDetails.aspx?specificationId=1015 (uploaded 3/20/2007)
16. I am being compensated for my time spent on the present matter at a
rate of $550 per hour. My compensation is not in any way contingent on my
performance, the result of this proceeding, or any of the issues involved therein. I
am also being reimbursed for expenses incurred as a result of activities performed
as an expert.
IV. PERSON OF ORDINARY SKILL IN THE ART
17. All of the opinions I express in this Declaration have been made from
the standpoint of a person of ordinary skill in the field of the ’779 Patent at the
time of the invention.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 9
18. I consider that a person of ordinary skill in the art (“POSITA”) at the
time of the invention would have had a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical
Engineering, Computer Science, or Computer Engineering with at least 2 to 3
years of experience in the cellular telecommunications industry, including
experience operating or implementing 3GPP networks. Additional education might
substitute for some of the experience, and substantial experience might substitute
for some of the educational background. I have those capabilities myself beginning
at least at the time of the earliest priority date of the patent at issue.
V. LEGAL UNDERSTANDINGS
Claim Interpretation
19. I am not a Patent Attorney, and I do not opine in this paper on any
particular methodology for interpreting patent claims. My opinions are limited to
what I believe a person of ordinary skill in the art would have understood the
meaning of certain claim terms to be based on the patent documents. I use the
principles below, however, as a guide in formulating my opinions.
20. I understand that it is a basic principle of patent law that assessing the
validity of a patent claim involves a two-step analysis. In the first step, the claim
language must be properly construed to determine its scope and meaning. In the
second step, the claim as properly construed must be compared to the alleged prior
art to determine whether the claim is valid.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 10
21. I understand that the words of a patent claim have their plain and
ordinary meaning for a person skilled in the art at the time of the invention. This
meaning must be ascertained from a reading of the patent documents, paying
special attention to the language of the claims, the written specifications, and the
prosecution history. I understand that an inventor may attribute special meanings to
some terms by defining those terms or by otherwise incorporating such meanings
in these documents.
22. My methodology for determining the meaning of claim phrases was
first to carefully study the patent. In particular, I studied the claims themselves,
followed by the background, detailed specification, figures, and other patent
content. Next, I reviewed the file histories looking for any clarifications or
limitations that might be attached to claim terms. In some circumstances, I looked
at other documents, such as references applied by the patent office.
23. I understand that in an inter partes review, claim terms are given their
broadest reasonable interpretation in light of the specification of the patent in
which they appear. I understand that under the broadest reasonable interpretation
standard, claim terms are presumed to be given their ordinary and customary
meaning as understood by one of ordinary skill in the art in the context of the
entire disclosure at the time of the invention. I understand that one must be careful
not to read a specific embodiment appearing in the written description into the
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 11
claim if the claim language is broader than the embodiment . I further understand
that any special definition for a claim term must be set forth with reasonable
clarity, deliberateness, and precision. I have considered each of the claim terms
using the broadest reasonable interpretation standard.
24. I understand that certain claim terms may be written as means-plus-
function claim terms. I also understand that for means-plus-function terms, the
structure performing the claimed function is limited to the corresponding structure
described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
Prior Art
25. It is my understanding that information which satisfies one of the
categories of prior art set forth in 35 U.S.C. § 102 may be used in an invalidity
analysis under §§ 102 or 103. If information is not properly classified as prior art
under one of the subsections of § 102 of the Patent Code, then it may not form the
basis of an anticipation or obviousness determination. It is also my understanding
that, for inter partes review, applicable prior art is limited to patents and printed
publications.
Anticipation
26. I understand that, to anticipate a patent claim under 35 U.S.C. § 102, a
single asserted prior art reference must disclose each and every element of the
claimed invention, either explicitly or inherently, to a person of ordinary skill in
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 12
the art. I understand that a disclosure of an asserted prior art reference can be
“inherent” if the missing element is necessarily present or is the inevitable outcome
of the process and/or thing that is explicitly described in the asserted prior art
reference.
Obviousness
27. I am also informed and understand that a patent claim is invalid under
35 U.S.C. § 103 if the differences between the invention and the prior art are such
that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time of the
invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the subject matter
pertains. Obviousness, as I understand, is based on the scope and content of the
prior art, the differences between the prior art and the claim, the level of ordinary
skill in the art, and secondary indications of non-obviousness to the extent they
exist.
28. I understand that whether there are any relevant differences between
the prior art and the claimed invention is to be analyzed from the view of a person
of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention. A person of ordinary skill in
the art is a hypothetical person who is presumed to be aware of all of the relevant
art at the time of the invention. The person of ordinary skill is not an automaton
and may be able to fit together the teachings of multiple patents employing
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 13
ordinary creativity and the common sense that familiar items may have obvious
uses in another context or beyond their primary purposes.
29. In analyzing the relevance of the differences between the claimed
invention and the prior art, I understand that I must consider the impact, if any, of
such differences on the obviousness or non-obviousness of the invention as a
whole, not merely some portion of it. The person of ordinary skill faced with a
problem is able to apply his or her experience and ability to solve the problem and
also look to any available prior art to help solve the problem.
30. I understand that an invention is obvious if a person of ordinary skill
in the art, facing the wide range of needs created by developments in the field,
would have seen an obvious benefit to the solutions tried by the applicant. When
there is a design need or market pressure to solve a problem and there are a finite
number of identified, predictable solutions, it would be obvious to a person of
ordinary skill to try the known options. If a technique has been used to improve
one device, and a person of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that it would
improve similar devices in the same way, using the technique would have been
obvious.
31. I understand that I do not need to look for precise teaching in the prior
art directed to the subject matter of the claimed invention. I understand that I may
take into account the inferences and creative steps that a person of ordinary skill in
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 14
the art would have employed in reviewing the prior art at the time of the invention.
For example, if the claimed invention combined elements known in the prior art
and the combination yielded results that were predictable to a person of ordinary
skill in the art at the time of the invention, then this evidence would make it more
likely that the claim was obvious. On the other hand, if the combination of known
elements yielded unexpected or unpredictable results, or if the prior art teaches
away from combining the known elements, then this evidence would make it more
likely that the claim that successfully combined those elements was not obvious. I
understand that hindsight must not be used when comparing the prior art to the
invention for obviousness.
Motivation to Combine
32. I understand that obviousness may be shown by demonstrating that it
would have been obvious to modify what is taught in a single piece of prior art to
create the patented invention. Obviousness may also be shown by demonstrating
that it would have been obvious to combine the teachings of more than one item of
prior art. I understand that a claimed invention may be obvious if some teaching,
suggestion, or motivation exists that would have led a person of ordinary skill in
the art to combine the invalidating references. I also understand that this suggestion
or motivation may come from sources such as explicit statements in the prior art,
or from the knowledge of a person having ordinary skill in the art. Alternatively,
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 15
any need or problem known in the field at the time and addressed by the patent
may provide a reason for combining elements of the prior art. I also understand
that when there is a design need or market pressure, and there are a finite number
of predictable solutions, a person of ordinary skill may be motivated to apply both
his skill and common sense in trying to combine the known options in order to
solve the problem.
33. In determining whether a piece of prior art could have been combined
with other prior art or with other information within the knowledge of a person
having ordinary skill in the art, the following are examples of approaches and
rationales that may be considered:
Combining prior art elements according to known methods to yield
predictable results;
Simple substitution of one known element for another to obtain
predictable results;
Use of a known technique to improve similar devices, methods, or
products in the same way;
Applying a known technique to a known device, method, or product
ready for improvement to yield predictable results;
Applying a technique or approach that would have been “obvious to
try” (choosing from a finite number of identified, predictable solutions,
with a reasonable expectation of success);
Known work in one field of endeavor may prompt variations of it for
use in either the same field or a different one based on design incentives
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 16
or other market forces if the variations would have been predictable to a
person having ordinary skill in the art; or
Some teaching, suggestion, or motivation in the prior art that would
have led one of ordinary skill to modify the prior art reference or to
combine prior art reference teachings to arrive at the claimed invention.
Secondary Considerations
34. As noted above, I understand that certain objective factors, sometimes
known as “secondary considerations,” may also be taken into account in
determining whether a claimed invention would have been obvious. In most
instances, these secondary considerations of non-obviousness are raised by the
patentee. In that context, the patentee argues an invention would not have been
obvious in view of these considerations, which include: (a) commercial success of
a product due to the merits of the claimed invention; (b) a long-felt, but unsatisfied
need for the invention; (c) failure of others to find the solution provided by the
claimed invention; (d) deliberate copying of the invention by others; (e)
unexpected results achieved by the invention; (f) praise of the invention by others
skilled in the art; (g) lack of independent simultaneous invention within a
comparatively short space of time; (h) teaching away from the invention in the
prior art. I also understand that these objective indications are only relevant to
obviousness if there is a connection, or nexus, between them and the invention
covered by the patent claims.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 17
35. I understand that certain “secondary considerations,” such as
independent invention by others within a comparatively short space of time,
indicates obviousness.
36. I also understand that secondary considerations of non-obviousness
are inadequate to overcome a strong showing on the primary considerations of
obviousness. For example, where the inventions represented no more than the
predictable use of prior art elements according to their established functions, the
secondary considerations are inadequate to establish non-obviousness.
Date of Invention
37. I understand that absent clear and convincing evidence of an invention
date prior to the filing date of a patent, the invention date of the patent is presumed
to be its filing date. A prior invention requires a complete conception of the
invention and a reduction to practice of that invention. The patentee has the burden
of establishing by clear and convincing evidence a date of conception earlier than
the filing date of the patent.
38. I understand that conception is the formation in the mind of the
inventor of a definite and permanent idea of the complete and operative invention.
I also understand that conception must be proved by corroborating evidence which
shows that the inventor disclosed to others his complete thought expressed in such
clear terms as to enable those skilled in the art to make the claimed invention. The
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 18
inventor must also show possession of every feature recited in the claims and that
every limitation was known to the inventor at the time of the alleged conception.
Furthermore, the patentee must show that he or she has exercised reasonable
diligence in later reducing the invention to practice, either actual or constructive.
The filing of a patent application can serve as a constructive reduction to practice.
VI. OVERVIEW OF THE ’779 PATENT
39. The purported novelty of the ’779 Patent is to place a known data
field (i.e., information element), in a known message, to serve a known function.
The details are explained in more depth below, but this purported “novelty” was
taught in Computer Communications 101. For example, the two Figures below are
a simplified representation of the state of the art “Before” and “After” the ’779
Patent. The difference (highlighted in yellow) between these two figures is the
purported point of novelty of the ’779 Patent:
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 19
VII. BACKGROUND OF TECHNOLOGY
The 4G LTE Cellular Network
40. The relevant technology for the purported invention relates to
modifications to the Fourth Generation Long Term Evolution (4G LTE) cellular
network. The 4G LTE standards are created and maintained by the 3rd Generation
Partnership Project (“3GPP”).
The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (“3GPP”) Standards
41. The ’779 Patent is closely related to Patent Owner’s work involving
modifications to the then-current 4G LTE specification promulgated by the 3GPP
standards body. The face of the patent cites a number of 4G LTE specifications.
Furthermore, it is clear from Patent Owner’s District Court Complaint that it
believes the purported invention is directly related to the 3GPP 4G LTE standards.
See, e.g., Huawei Techs. Co. Ltd. v. T-Mobile US, Inc., 2:16-CV-00056, D.I. 1, at
¶¶7–9, 16–17 (E.D. Tex. Jan. 15, 2016) (NSN779-1006). Therefore, the following
discussion will outline the procedures and practices of the 3GPP standards body.
3GPP Organization
42. 3GPP is a standards-setting organization. As cellular
telecommunications technology developed in the late 1980s, network operators
began to realize that standardization was necessary to ensure subscriber mobility
and compatibility of the equipment provided from multiple suppliers. In other
words, mobile phone subscribers wanted to be able connect across the country on
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 20
their subscribed mobile network and “roam” on third-party networks. Thus, the
3GPP began in 1998 as a joint partnership between several telecommunications
companies to develop and standardize various aspects of 2G, 3G, and 4G mobile
network operator systems. See also NSN779-1015, pg. 4 (3GPP About).
43. The 3GPP is a group enterprise, and in my experience, changes occur
gradually. Within the larger 3GPP umbrella are four primary plenary Technical
Specification Groups (“TSGs”) (e.g., Systems and Architecture (“SA”)), under
which are several working groups (e.g., Systems and Architecture Working Group
2 (“SA-2” or “S2”)). The meetings for each plenary and working group are
numbered sequentially (e.g., TSG SA, Meeting #14 (“SP-14”); SA-2, Meeting #22
(“S2-22”)). In my experience, the working groups met roughly every month and
were responsible for drafting and editing specific standards and change requests.
See also NSN779-1015, pg. 4 (3GPP About). All change requests had to be
approved by the plenary group before the change requests were incorporated into a
specific release of the standard. See also NSN779-1015, pg. 4 (3GPP About).
44. Major changes to the 3GPP standard are defined in “Releases,” and in
my experience certain groups of releases are informally referred to as a
generation. As shown by the table below, each generation of cellular network has
multiple releases.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 21
Generation Release End Date1
“2G” Release 98 2/12/1999“3G” or “UMTS” Release 99 12/17/1999
Release 4 6/21/2001Release 5 9/12/2002Release 6 9/28/2005Release 7 3/13/2008
“4G” or “LTE” Release 8 3/12/2009Release 9 3/25/2010
. . . . . . . . .
3GPP Documentation
45. Standardization in 3GPP is an ongoing, collaborative effort. It
involves hundreds of engineers from companies that are interested in developing
the technology. Each 3GPP working group typically holds monthly meetings in
different locations around the world. The members of the working group submit
written contributions (called “temporary documents” or “TDocs”) and discussion
documents, ultimately capturing accepted proposals and changes in Technical
Reports and Technical Specifications. In my experience, 3GPP has stored and
controlled documents electronically, and these documents are retained on the
1 All of these end dates are available on the 3GPP website. See Releases,
3GPP: THE MOBILE BROADBAND STANDARD,
http://www.3gpp.org/specifications/67-releases.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 22
public 3GPP server indefinitely. See also NSN779-1016, pgs. 2–3 (3GPP
Delegates).
46. In my experience the general practice of 3GPP, both now and at the
time of the purported invention, is to distribute TDocs and discussion documents to
group members prior to each meeting. Then at the meeting itself, the members
publicly discuss those TDocs and discussion documents. Members also vote on the
TDocs and, if approved, incorporate them into the standard. See also NSN779-
1016 (3GPP Delegates). Sometimes TDocs are drafted, edited, or combined during
the meeting. The new and edited TDocs are given new TDoc numbers and
uploaded to the public 3GPP file server, usually soon after the meeting. NSN779-
1017, pg. 8 (3GPP FAQ). Sometimes, the new and edited TDocs are further
circulated for e-mail approval—that is, they can be distributed and voted upon via
e-mail.
47. In my experience, both now and at the time of the purported
invention, TDocs and discussion documents are publicly circulated to group
members before and after meetings in two ways. First, they can be uploaded to the
public 3GPP file server prior to each meeting. See NSN779-1016, pgs. 2–3 (3GPP
Delegates); NSN779-1017, pg. 8 (3GPP FAQ). If so, the file will receive a date
and time stamp. In my experience, the date and time stamp can be relied upon to
indicate when the upload occurred, making the document available to the public on
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 23
the Internet. See NSN779-1017, pgs. 8–9 (3GPP FAQ). Second, TDocs and
discussion documents can be distributed to the public using the group’s public e-
mail exploder. See NSN779-1017, pg. 8 (3GPP FAQ).
3GPP-based Network Architectures at the Time of the PurportedInvention
48. The ’779 Patent’s alleged point of novelty was disclosed in prior
generation networks. To appreciate the routine nature of the purported novelty, it is
helpful to trace 3GPP’s network evolution from the 2G architecture to the 4G LTE
architecture.
The Evolution from 2G Networks to 3G Networks
49. Early releases of the 3GPP standards created a network that could
only offer voice calls to landline phones or other mobile phones. This network,
commonly called the 2G network, can be divided into two main areas: radio
access, which enabled a phone to connect to the network over a wireless interface,
and the core network, which typically provided wired connections across a wide
geographic area. Given that these early 2G networks only supported voice calls,
they only needed a circuit-switched core network. A simplified diagram of the
2G Core Network architecture is below:
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 24
50. But by the late 1990s, mobile phone subscribers required more from
their devices than just voice calling capability and wanted access to services like e-
mail and Internet. These services require transferring data to and from subscribers
in small chunks called packets. Therefore the 3GPP 3G Universal Mobile
Telecommunications Service (3G UMTS) standard body added a packet-switched
core network called the General Packet Radio Service (“GPRS”), as shown by the
bottom rectangle in the simplified diagram below.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 25
51. As can be seen above, the 3G UMTS network was comprised of a
circuit-switched core network and a packet-switched core network. The packet-
switched network was used for data communications for many different types of
data. The circuit-switched core network is shown in the figure above as the top
rectangle in the “Core Network” box, and the packet-switched core network is
shown in the figure above as the bottom rectangle in the “Core Network” box.
52. In my opinion, a POSITA would have understood that a “packet-
switched” network typically enables the transfer of data packets from one point to
another. Each data packet contains at least one address that identifies the intended
destination of that packet. A “packet-switched” network typically relies on one or
more intermediate nodes to route the data packets from source to destination. A
simplified version of that network equipment (showing those nodes contained
inside of the green, “packet-switched” network box above) is below:
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 26
53. In the 3G UMTS network, User Equipment (e.g., a mobile phone)
connects to a mobile phone tower, commonly referred as a NodeB (NB). The NB
is connected, typically through a wired connection, to a Radio Network Controller
(RNC). Usually, several NBs are connected to a given RNC. The RNC is
connected, typically through a wired connection, to a Serving GPRS Support Node
(SGSN). The SGSN retrieves subscriber information from the database stored in
the Home Location Register (HLR). Based on the subscriber’s information and the
subscriber’s desired packet data service (e.g., e-mail, Internet connection, etc.), the
SGSN selects a Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN). In a 3G UMTS packet-
switched network, the pathway (i.e., data connection) from mobile phone to GGSN
is referred to as a specific Packet Data Protocol (PDP) context. Once the PDP
context (i.e., connection) was established, the mobile phone could send and receive
data to and from the service.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 27
54. One aspect of the 3G UMTS system is that the SGSN had to be able
to handle both “control-plane” messages and “user-plane” messages.
55. In a 3G network, the SGSN is the main control element. When
initially establishing a PDP context (i.e., at “attach”), the SGSN is responsible for
control-plane functions, such as selecting a GGSN that could exchange packets
with the user’s desired packet data service. Once the PDP context (i.e., data
connection) is established, the SGSN is also responsible for maintaining the
connection. If the user physically moves and their mobile phone connects to a new
cell phone tower (NB) and possibly to a new RNC (a process generally referred to
as “handover”), the SGSN has to ensure that user data packets from the GGSN are
sent to the new RNC and/or NB. These tasks require the SGSN to exchange
control-plane messages with the RNC and GGSN. A person of ordinary skill in the
art would have understood this as “control-plane messaging.”
56. On the other hand, the SGSN is also responsible for routing the user
data packets to the GGSN. These user data packets allow the mobile phone to
communicate with the PDN to receive services like e-mail and Internet. A person
having ordinary skill in the art would have understood this as “user-plane
messaging.”
57. This dual-role configuration meant that the SGSN was responsible for
both controlling functions such as mobility as well as routing user data to and from
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 28
the PDN (e.g., Internet). As a result, when many mobile phones were connected to
the same SGSN, this configuration could create a bottleneck. The SGSN could
become too busy with user-plane messaging (i.e., sending data packets to and from
the PDN via the GGSN) and, therefore, not have sufficient processing power or
memory to devote to control-plane messaging (e.g., handling the mobile phone’s
mobility needs). In other words, because the SGSN was tasked with performing
both control-plane and user-plane functions, the SGSN could not be optimized for
handling either one. Recognizing this problem, in Release 8, the 3GPP standards
body defined a new architecture for the packet-switched domain that separated the
network equipment that would handle the control-plane functions from the network
equipment that would handle the user-plane functions. This new architecture was
called the 4G Long Term Evolution (4G LTE) network.
The Evolution to 4G LTE Networks
58. At the time of the purported invention, the 3GPP standards body was
working to evolve the 3G UMTS standard into the 4G LTE network. The 4G LTE
architecture includes network equipment that serves functions similar to that of the
3G UMTS architecture network equipment. However, to help with the
optimization problem described above, the SGSN’s user-plane functionality and
control-plane functionality was split into two separate network elements: the
Serving Gateway (S-GW) and the Mobility Management Entity (MME). A
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 29
simplified diagram of the logical architecture for a 4G LTE packet-switched core
network appears below:
59. The 4G LTE architecture also allows a mobile phone to access the
network through a non-3GPP (Wi-Fi) access point, such as a wireless router. In
order for the 4G LTE network to support this type of access point, the 3GPP
standards body added new network elements to the 4G LTE packet-switched core
network. I will also refer to a “non-3GPP access point” as a Wi-Fi access point. As
the “non-3GPP” name implies, the Wi-Fi access point (and other non-3GPP access
points) are not governed by the 3GPP standards body. A simplified diagram of the
logical architecture for a 4G LTE network where a mobile phone accessed the
network through a Wi-Fi access point is shown below:
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 30
4G LTE Network Elements
60. This section describes the elements that are relevant to the 4G LTE
packet-switched core network when connecting to a Wi-Fi access point. As shown
in the diagrams below, there are multiple elements inside and outside the 4G LTE
packet-switched core network that are relevant to the ’779 Patent.
61. The network elements that are relevant to the ’779 Patent are:
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 31
eNB (eNodeB): In general terms, the eNB performs the function of a
base station. The eNB communicates wirelessly with many mobile
devices and typically communicates over wired connections with the
core network. I will refer to the eNB as a “base station.”
S-GW (Serving Gateway): An S-GW supports one or more eNBs for
management and transmission of user-plane packet data. The S-GW is
connected to one or more MMEs, one or more eNBs, and one or more
PDN GWs through a wired connection. The S-GW forwards data
packets from the eNB to the PDN GW.
PDN GW (Packet Data Network Gateway): The PDN GW is
responsible for interworking between the 4G LTE packet-switched
network and the Internet. In other words, the PDN GW is the
demarcation point between the 4G LTE cellular network and the public
Internet. When a mobile phone seeks to handover its data connection
from a Wi-Fi access point to an eNB, the PDN GW serves as the anchor
where the switch is made.
MME (Mobility Management Entity): The MME is responsible for
managing the mobility of the mobile phone and other control-plane
functions. The MME keeps track of the mobile phone’s location and
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 32
keeps the other network elements informed about the status of the
mobile phone.
HSS (Home Subscriber Server): The HSS stores subscriber
information about the phone. The HSS also stores information about
which PDN GW a particular mobile phone is connected to.
ePDG (evolved Packet Data Gateway): The ePDG communicates
with the Wi-Fi router and PDN GW to allow a mobile phone to access
the 4G LTE network through a Wi-Fi access point.
62. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have also understood that a
mobile phone was often referred to as a UE or User Equipment. I use the terms
“UE” and “mobile phone” interchangeably.
The Attach Procedure
63. Before a mobile phone can use the data services of a 2G, 3G, or 4G
cellular network, it must first successfully establish a connection with the network.
This process is referred to as the “Attach” process. While the specific steps of an
Attach process differ for each generation of network, the concepts and objectives
are the same—to get a data connection between the mobile phone and the cellular
network.
64. For example, when a mobile phone is powered on, it acquires a nearby
base station in the 4G LTE network and performs the “Attach” procedure. After
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 33
the network successfully validates the mobile phone, it can use the network for
voice calls or data connections.
2G Attach Procedure
65. The 2G Attach procedure was initially established for 3GPP networks
when an architecture enhancement was added to the voice-only GSM network in
order to support data packet connections. This enhancement is referred to as
General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) and has now evolved into the 3G and 4G
networks.
3G Attach Procedure
66. The 3G network standard divides the Attach procedure into at least
two steps: (1) registering the mobile phone with the network; and (2) creating an
initial data bearer (connection) for the mobile phone in the network. As an
example, the Attach procedure depicted in 3GPP TS 23.060 V4.6.0 from 2002 is
discussed below, along with a simplified version of the steps relevant to the ’779
Patent:
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 34
NSN779-1019, pg. 47 & fig. 22.
67. In the first part of the procedure, the mobile phone first sends an
Attach Request message to a NB, which routes the Attach Request to the SGSN
through the RNC (depicted as step 1 in the message diagram above and with
reference to the system architecture below). The Attach Request message
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 35
contained an information element called “Attach Type” that “indicates which type
of attach is to be performed.” NSN779-1019, pg. 48; see also NSN779-1027, at
428 (“The attach type is a type 1 information element.”); NSN779-1027, at 428
(“The purpose of the attach type information element is to indicate the type of the
requested attach . . . .”). The SGSN receives the Attach Request message and
identifies the contents of the information element.
68. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have understood that an
“information element” is nothing more than the name for a data field inside of a
message. NSN779-1005, at 373.
69. In the second part of the procedure, the SGSN uses information
provided by the mobile phone to select a GGSN that the mobile phone will use to
connect to the Internet (i.e., PDN).
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 36
70. After the SGSN selects the GGSN, the SGSN sends an Activate PDP
Context Request message to the selected GGSN to create a PDP context (also
known as a “bearer”).
71. Once the GGSN receives the message requesting that a bearer be
created, the network, in turn, creates the data bearer (connection) that will allow
the mobile phone to access the Internet and other services.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 37
72. The data bearers allow the mobile phone to communicate with the
network, and ultimately the PDN, to receive e-mail and Internet service.
4G Attach Procedure
73. At the time the ’779 Patent application was filed, the 3GPP standards
body had defined nearly all aspects of the 4G LTE Attach procedure. As in the 3G
UMTS network Attach procedure, when a mobile phone initially performs an
Attach procedure with the 4G LTE network (e.g., when the phone is turned on for
the first time), it must register with the network and create an initial bearer. To do
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 38
so, the mobile phone executed the Attach procedure outlined in TS 23.401 V0.4.1
§ 5.3.2 (NSN779-1021). The message flow diagram and a simplified explanation
of the steps relevant to the ’779 Patent is reproduced below:
NSN779-1021, fig. 5.3.2-1.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 39
74. First, like in the 3G UMTS Attach procedure, the mobile phone sends
a control-plane Attach Request message to an eNB, which routes the Attach
Request to the MME (depicted as steps 1 & 2 in the message flow diagram above
and with reference to the system architecture below). In this, the MME receives the
Attach Request message.
75. Using information provided by the mobile phone in the Attach
Request message, the MME selects a new PDN GW that the mobile phone will use
to connect to the Internet (i.e., PDN).
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 40
76. After the MME selects the PDN GW, the MME sends a create bearer
request message to the Serving GW associated with the selected PDN GW
(depicted in step 12 in the message flow diagram above), and the Serving GW
sends a create bearer request message to the PDN GW selected by the MME
(depicted in step 13 in the message flow diagram above). This step is depicted with
reference to the system architecture below.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 41
77. Once the PDN GW receives the create bearer request message, the
network, in turn, creates the bearer that will allow the mobile phone to access the
Internet and other services (depicted in steps 15 and 16 in the message flow
diagram above and with reference to the system architecture below).
78. The bearer allows the mobile phone to communicate with the
network, and ultimately the PDN (Internet), to receive e-mail and Internet service.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 42
4G Handover Attach Procedure from non-3GPP (Wi-Fi) to 3GPP
79. At the time the patent application was filed, the 3GPP standards body
had also discussed and defined many aspects of the 4G LTE Attach procedure that
would be used when the mobile phone performed a handover from a Wi-Fi (non-
3GPP) access point to a 4G LTE (3GPP) base station. This 4G handover Attach
procedure mirrored the initial 4G Attach procedure, with a few differences as
described below.
80. When a mobile phone was attached through a Wi-Fi (non-3GPP)
access point and needed to handover to a 4G (3GPP) base station, it was known
that the MME located in the 4G network would need to re-select the same PDN
GW (also in the 4G network) that the mobile phone was connected to through the
Wi-Fi access point. By re-selecting the same PDN GW that the mobile phone was
connected to, the 4G network could better ensure a seamless handover. In order to
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 43
re-select the PDN GW, the mobile phone performed the “Handover Attach”
procedure. Below is Patent Owner’s representation of the prior art “handover”
Attach procedure. This prior art procedure is disclosed in Patent Owner’s earliest
filed Chinese priority application:
NSN-1005, fig. 2
81. A simplified version of the steps relevant to the ’779 Patent is
explained below as well as in Patent Owner’s earliest filed priority application.
82. Just as in the “initial” Attach procedure, the mobile phone sent the
Attach Request message to an MME (depicted in step 3 in the message flow
diagram above and depicted with reference to the system architecture below).
83. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have understood that,
just as in the “initial” Attach procedure, the mobile phone sends the message
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 44
through an eNB (base station) for it to reach the MME. In this case, the MME
receives the Attach Request message.
84. Second, just as in the “initial” Attach procedure, the MME needs to
select a PDN GW at this step. However, in the “handover” Attach procedure, the
MME needs to re-select the PDN GW that the mobile phone is connected to using
the Wi-Fi access point (see blue box below). The PDN GW in the blue box below
acts as the anchor point when the message flows are switched during handover.
The address of the PDN GW is stored in the HSS.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 45
85. To re-select the PDN GW that the mobile phone is connected to
through the Wi-Fi access point, the MME contacts the HSS to obtain the address of
the PDN GW that the mobile phone is connected to through the Wi-Fi access point
(depicted in step 4 in the message flow diagram above and with reference to the
system architecture below).
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 46
86. Once the MME re-selects the PDN GW, the MME sends a message to
the PDN GW requesting it to create a bearer (depicted in step 5 in the message
flow diagram above and with reference to the system architecture below). A person
having ordinary skill in the art would have understood that there is no direct
interface between the MME and the PDN GW. See NSN-1001, fig. 1 (showing the
network equipment and interfaces); NSN-1001, at 18:44–59 (describing how the
message is processed through the Serving GW). Thus, a person having ordinary
skill in the art would have also understood that all requests from the MME to the
PDN GW must be sent through the S-GW.
87. Once the PDN GW receives the message requesting that a bearer
(connection) be created, the PDN GW, in turn, creates the bearer that will allow the
mobile phone to access the Internet and other services (depicted in step 7 in the
message flow diagram above and with reference to the system architecture below).
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 47
88. Using the re-selected PDN GW as the anchor and the newly created
bearer as the communication path, the network switches the message flow so that
the mobile phone can now communicate with the 3GPP network along the newly
created bearer through the eNB (base station) instead of the Wi-Fi access point.
89. Given that the “handover” Attach procedure closely mirrored the
“initial” Attach procedure and that both procedures used an Attach Request
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 48
message with the same structure, the network needed to distinguish between
situations (1) where the mobile phone was requesting an “initial” Attach, and (2)
where the mobile phone was requesting a “handover” Attach, so the MME could
re-select the correct PDN GW. This minor detail had not been implemented by the
3GPP standards body when Patent Owner filed its Chinese priority application,
which covers the most basic and obvious methods for doing so.
90. However, the need for this minor detail was already recognized by
participants in the 3GPP standards committee before the time of Patent Owner’s
patent application. See, e.g., NSN779-1014, pg. 1. Indeed, Ericsson stated: “There
are two main cases for selecting a GW (both PDN GW and Serving GW): [1]
Initial GW selection, i.e., selecting a new GW for a UE. This typically happens
when the UE attaches to the system. [2] Maintain the selected GW during
handovers between 3GPP access and non-3GPP access.” NSN779-1014, pg. 1
(second emphasis added)). A person having ordinary skill in the art would have
understood that the Ericsson Submission outlined situations where the mobile
phone would handover from Wi-Fi (non-3GPP) to LTE (3GPP). NSN779-1014,
fig. 1.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 49
VIII. THE ’779 PATENT
Introduction
91. The ’779 Patent discloses the long-existing principle of placing an
information element in an Attach Request message. Using the information element,
the network can distinguish (1) the Attach Request message caused by a
“handover” Attach procedure, from (2) the Attach Request message cause by an
“initial” Attach procedure.
92. In other words, the alleged novelty of the ’779 Patent is not directed to
the message flow, as that was prior art. Instead, the only alleged novelty from
exemplary claim 1 is the element “wherein the attach request message comprises
an information element (IE) indicating handover.” Patent Owner’s purported
invention was simply a specific parameter sent within a known message, within a
known system. The parameter capitalizes on an obvious consequence of gradual
changes being made during the standardization process. The triviality of this
alleged novelty is demonstrated by the difference (highlighted in yellow) in the
“Before” and “After” diagrams below:
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 50
BEFORE THE ’779 PATENT
AFTER THE ’779 PATENT
93. The same purported novelty can be represented with the simplified
message flow diagram as well:
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 51
94. But further, as shown below, this same “Attach Type” information
element was already being used in the 3G network, in the same message, to
“indicate[] which type of attach is to be performed.” NSN779-1016, pg. 48; see
also NSN779-1027, at 428 (“The purpose of the attach type information element is
to indicate the type of the requested attach . . . .”).
95. In my opinion, the techniques and processes recited in claims 1, 4, 9–
10, and 11 of the ’779 Patent describe nothing more than conventional features for
distinguishing messages in a network. Specifically, the ’779 Patent claims the use
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 52
of an “information element” contained within the Attach Request message that
distinguishes the “initial” Attach Request message from the “handover” Attach
Request message. An information element is nothing more than the name of a data
field in a message, and the use of an “information element” to distinguish an
Attach Request message was known before the ’779 Patent. Patent Owner merely
ported this conventional idea into the non-3GPP (Wi-Fi) handover context. Patent
Owner acknowledged that every other claimed part of the procedure was known
and in the existing protocol.
96. Indeed, Patent Owner disclosed and admitted much more about the
prior art Wi-Fi to LTE handover procedure in its Chinese priority application than
it did in the specification of the ’779 Patent. However, the USPTO did not receive
a translation of the Chinese priority application until well after the other prior art
showing that an information element indicating handover was common knowledge.
97. Below is a summary table showing where each element of exemplary
challenged claim 1 can be found. Every element except for the “information
element” that was copied and pasted from the 3G Attach procedure, and disclosed
in other documents, was disclosed as prior art in Patent Owner’s Chinese priority
application.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 53
Claim 1 Prior Art Disclosure1. [1preamble]. Ahandover processingmethod, comprising:
Patent Owner admits a handover processing methodwas in the prior art:
“FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a handover from a non-3GPP access system to a 3GPP access system for aUE [mobile phone] in the prior art;”
[1a] receiving, by aMobility ManagementEntity (MME), an attachrequest message sent by aUser Equipment (UE)during a handover from anon 3rd GenerationPartnership Project (non-3GPP) network to a 3rdGeneration Partnership(3GPP) network,
Patent Owner admits this element was in the prior art.In describing the non-3GPP to 3GPP prior arthandover procedure, Patent Owner states:
“3. The UE sends an Attach Request . . . message tothe MME.”
[1b] wherein the attachrequest message comprisesan information element(IE) indicating handover;
From Soderbacka: “a new information element . . .added to the SETUP message transmitted by themobile terminal to the communication network.”NSN779-1007, ¶0032. That information elementindicates that handover should be performed.
From the Nokia Submission: “Attach Type[information element] indicates which type of attachis to be performed.” NSN779-1008, pg. 4.
[1c] identifying, by theMME, a Packet DataNetwork Gateway (PDNGW) whose address is usedby the UE in the non-3GPPnetwork by communicatingwith a Home SubscriberServer (HSS); and
Patent Owner admits this element was in the prior art.In describing the non-3GPP to 3GPP prior arthandover procedure, Patent Owner states:
“4. An authentication procedure is performedbetween the UE, the MME, and the HSS to obtain thePDN GW address used by the UE.5. The MME sends a Create Bearer Request messageto the obtained PDN GW address, . . .”
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 54
Claim 1 Prior Art Disclosure[1d] requesting, by theMME, the PDN GW toinitiate a bearer creationprocedure.
Patent Owner admits this element was in the prior art.In describing the non-3GPP to 3GPP prior arthandover procedure, Patent Owner states:
“5. The MME sends a Create Bearer Request messageto the obtained PDN GW address, requesting thenetwork side to initiate bearer creation procedure.. . .7. The PDN GW initiates a network-side bearercreation procedure to create the bearer of the user.”
98. The above chart is addressed in significantly more detail below.
Prosecution History of the Application Leading to the ’779 Patent
99. Viewed as a whole, the prosecution history demonstrates a few key
points: First, Patent Owner repeatedly distinguished the prior art using the
“information element” limitation that the International Searching Authority (during
prosecution of the Chinese PCT) believed was disclosed by the Soderbacka prior
art reference that is described below. Second, despite this, the examiner never
discussed or cited the Soderbacka reference. Third, the examiner was not presented
with a translation of the Chinese priority document—detailing Patent Owner’s
admissions of the prior art Wi-Fi to LTE handover procedure—until April 2013,
years after the Soderbacka reference was identified among other references in an
IDS.
100. The discussion below contains a detailed explanation showing these
points.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 55
Priority Documents
101. Patent Owner filed four foreign priority applications in the Chinese
patent office:
CN 2007 1 0104400, on May 11, 2007 (NSN779-1002, pg. 443(Certified Copy of Chinese Application));
CN 2007 1 0181758, on October 24, 2007 (NSN779-1002, pg. 463(Certified Copy of Chinese Application));
CN 2007 1 0165540, on November 2, 2007 (NSN779-1002, pg. 497(Certified Copy of Chinese Application); and
CN 2008 1 0085729, on March 13, 2008 (NSN779-1002, pg. 547(Certified Copy of Chinese Application).
Chinese PCT Filing
102. Patent Owner then filed a Chinese-language PCT application,
PCT/CN2008/070909, on May 9, 2008 (NSN779-1002, pg. 616 (Certified Copy of
Chinese PCT Application)). Based on three prior art references, the International
Searching Authority (ISA) concluded that certain claims were unpatentable for
failure to comply with PCT article 33(2) and (3)—they lacked novelty and
inventive step. NSN779-1002, pg. 349 (Translation of International Searching
Authority Written Opinion).
103. In the Written Opinion, the Searching Authority cited CN1605222 A
to Nokia Corp. This reference—CN1605222 A—is a Chinese counterpart to U.S.
Patent Application US 2003/0114158 to Soderbacka (hereinafter, “Soderbacka”)
(NSN779-1007). NSN779-1002, pg. 349 (Translation of International Searching
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 56
Authority Written Opinion). The Written Opinion stated that numerous claims of
PCT/CN2008/070909 were explicitly disclosed by the Chinese counterpart to
Soderbacka. NSN779-1002, pgs. 349. Of importance here is claim 34. The
Searching Authority stated that placing an information element indicating
handover in an Attach Request message was already in the prior art. The Written
Opinion stated: “The appendant features of claim 34 . . . are explicitly disclosed
in” the counterpart to the Soderbacka reference. NSN779-1002, pg. 350 (emphasis
added). In the original PCT Application PCT/CN2008/070909, claim 34 read:
34. The UE of claim 33, wherein the reporting unit reports in one of thefollowing:including the processing type information in a IE of an Attach Request
message and reporting the message;including the processing type information in a IE of a Tracking Area Update,
TAU, Request message and reporting the message;including the processing type information in a IE of a Routing Area Update,
RAU, Request message and reporting the message;including the processing type information in a IE of an Access Request
message and reporting the message;including the processing type information in a IE of an Access Authentication
message or an Authentication message and reporting the message; andincluding the processing type information in a IE of an Internet Key Exchange
Protocol Version 2, IKEv2, or IP Security Protocol Security Association,IPsec SA, Setup request message and reporting the message.
NSN-1020, pg. 318 (English Translation of PCT/CN2008/070909)
104. In other words, the International Searching Authority clearly believed
that placing “processing type information in a IE” of various messages was
disclosed by the Chinese version of the Soderbacka reference. An IE is shorthand
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 57
for an “information element.” In other words, Patent Owner’s method of including
an information element to distinguish processing type (i.e., “handover” versus
“initial” attach) was already known and disclosed by Soderbacka.
105. While claim 34 above is a broader version of the ultimate claims of
the ’779 Patent, Patent Owner did not add any novelty to narrow the claims beyond
what Patent Owner admitted was prior art.
106. On October 19, 2009, Patent Owner filed a continuation of its Chinese
PCT in the United States, which was assigned Application number 12/581,575.
Application number 12/581,575 would later issue as the ’779 Patent.
USPTO Examination
107. Patent Owner submitted a translation of the Written Opinion of the
International Searching Authority with respect to PCT/CN2008/070909 on July 9,
2010. However, Patent Owner did not initially provide a translation of the Chinese
priority application detailing the admissions about the prior art. As a result, the
U.S. patent examiner focused on other references during examination.
108. But further, when Patent Owner submitted the ’779 Patent’s
application to the USPTO, Patent Owner removed all references to the admitted
prior art handover procedure. In fact, when the examiner signed off on Soderbacka,
the examiner had no knowledge that Patent Owner had admitted every other
element of the claimed method was prior art. Simply put, the examiner never
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 58
discussed or cited Soderbacka in combination with Patent Owner’s admitted prior
art:
109. But even without the translation of the Chinese priority application
disclosing the prior art elements, the examiner still rejected certain claims then
pending in the application under § 102 and § 112 in an office action mailed
November 15, 2010. Claims 1–4, 7, 9, 10 and 12–17 were rejected under § 102(e)
as being anticipated by U.S. Application 2009/0073933 to Madour et al.
(“Madour”). Claims 8 and 11 were rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being
unpatentable over Madour in view of U.S. Application 2008/0320149 to Faccin
(“Faccin I”). The examiner noted that claims 5 and 6 would be allowable subject
matter if rewritten to overcome the rejections under 35 U.S.C. § 112. NSN779-
1002, pgs. 359–75 (11/15/2010 Non-Final Rejection).
110. Patent Owner’s February 14, 2011 Response amended the claims and
attempted to traverse the Madour and Faccin I rejections. First, Patent Owner
argued that Madour failed to teach or suggest “a registration request message
comprising registration processing information” (e.g., information indicating
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 59
whether the registration processing was due to “handover” attach or “initial”
attach). NSN779-1002, pg. 701 (2/14/2011 Patent Owner Response). However,
this claim limitation is nearly identical to the claim element rejected by the
International Searching Authority in light of Soderbacka. Second, Patent Owner
focused on the fact that Madour did not specifically disclose a method that
identified a registration processing type according to the registration processing
type information (e.g., information indicating whether the registration processing
type was “handover” attach or “initial” attach). NSN779-1002, pg. 701 (2/14/2011
Patent Owner Response). Finally, Patent Owner argued that Madour did not
disclose initiating a bearer creation procedure when the registration type equaled
handover registration. NSN779-1002, pg. 701 (2/14/2011 Patent Owner Response).
Of course, this last limitation constituted admitted prior art from the Chinese
priority application. However, at this point during the examination, the examiner
did not have the verified translation of the Chinese application.
111. Patent Owner also added new claims. In particular, Patent Owner
added claim 18, which explicitly recites that “the registration request message is an
attach request message and includes an Attach Type information element in the
Attach Request message, wherein values of the Attach Type comprise an Initial
Attach or Handover Attach.” NSN779-1002, pg. 696 (2/14/2011 Patent Owner
Response).
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 60
112. On April 25, 2011, the examiner issued a final rejection based on a
new reference, U.S. Application 2006/0109817 to Ramanna et al., (“Ramanna”).
Specifically, the examiner found that claims 7, 9–11, 14, 16, and 23 were
anticipated by Ramanna. NSN779-1002, pg. 718 (4/25/2011 Final Rejection).
Next, the examiner found that claims 1, 4–6, 12, and 18–22 were unpatentable over
Ramanna in view of U.S. Application 2008/0254768 to Faccin (“Faccin II”).
NSN779-1002, pg. 723.
113. Patent Owner responded to the Final Rejection on July 11, 2011, and
requested continued examination under 37 C.F.R. 1.114. Patent Owner again
amended the claims and added new claims.
114. In Patent Owner’s response, Patent Owner first distinguished
Ramanna on a new ground. Patent Owner again confirmed that the purported point
of novelty of its invention is the transmission of a registration request message, in
this case, a handover-type registration request message, distinguishing Ramanna on
the basis that the “HANDOFF REQUEST is not a registration request message.”
NSN779-1002, pg. 748 (7/11/2011 Patent Owner Response). Patent Owner next
distinguished Ramanna on the same grounds listed above, namely, that Ramanna
fails to teach or suggest identifying, by the network element, a handover
processing type of the registration request according to the registration processing
type information. NSN779-1002, pgs. 748–49. Patent Owner argued that, in
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 61
Ramanna, the base station receives a direct handoff request and does not identify
the processing type (i.e., “handover” or “initial”) according to any registration
processing type information. NSN779-1002, pg. 748. However, this claim
limitation is nearly identical to the claim limitation rejected by the International
Searching Authority in light of Soderbacka.
115. On December 6, 2011, the patent examiner issued a non-final
rejection finding Patent Owner’s arguments distinguishing its messages over the
prior art persuasive. NSN779-1002, pg. 772. However, finding a new ground of
rejection in Faccin II, the examiner again rejected the claims as unpatentable under
§ 103(a) using Ramanna in view of Faccin II. NSN779-1002, pg. 774.
116. On March 6, 2012, Patent Owner filed a Response and Amendment to
the examiner’s rejection. In the amendment to claim 1, Patent Owner changed
“registration request message” to “attach request message.” NSN779-1002, pg. 797
(3/6/2012 Patent Owner Response). Patent Owner also added new claims.
117. In Patent Owner’s Response, Patent Owner attempted to traverse the
rejections of Ramanna in view of Faccin II from above. First, Patent Owner argued
that Ramanna teaches handover between two non-3GPP networks; not a non-3GPP
network and a 3GPP network. NSN779-1002, pg. 802 (3/6/2012 Patent Owner
Response). Second, Patent Owner argued that Ramanna teaches the use of the base
station and a HANDOFF REQUEST message to initiate handover, but the
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 62
amended claims used an MME and an attach request message. NSN779-1002, pgs.
802–03. Specifically, Patent Owner stated: “An attach procedure enables a UE
to register itself to an MME for receiving packet service . . . .” NSN779-1002,
pg. 803 (emphasis added).
118. This portion of the file history confirms that the attach request
message is a part of the initial connection establishment signaling that the mobile
phone uses “to register itself to an MME for receiving packet service.” NSN779-
1002, pg. 803. This message is precisely the kind of message that the International
Searching Authority thought was disclosed by Soderbacka (as discussed above).
119. On May 3, 2012, the examiner issued another Final Rejection. The
examiner stated that Patent Owner’s arguments were persuasive. However,
examiner put forth a new ground of rejection, rejecting claims 7, 9, 10, 16, 19, 20,
and 26–33 under § 102 as being anticipated by U.S. Application 2008/0181178 to
Shaheen (“Shaheen I”). NSN779-1002, pgs. 900–03 (5/3/2012 Final Rejection).
120. On August 3, 2012, Patent Owner filed a Response to the Final Office
Action. Patent Owner did not amend any claims. Patent Owner focused its
argument on the idea that “Shaheen fails to disclose ‘identifying, by the MME, a
Packet Data Network Gateway (PDN GW) whose address is used by the UE in the
non-3GPP network by communicating with a Home Subscriber Server (HSS).’”
NSN779-1002, pg. 916 (8/3/2012 Patent Owner Response). This element was
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 63
already present in the existing protocol. This element was also described in the
admitted prior art that Patent Owner removed from the Chinese application before
it filed the U.S. application. But the examiner would have been unaware of this fact
because the verified translation of the Chinese application was still not submitted
at this point. Patent Owner never argued that Shaheen I failed to disclose “wherein
the attach request message comprises an information element (IE) indicating
handover. NSN779-1002, pgs. 916–18.
121. On August 16, 2012, the examiner filed an Advisory Action Before
the Filing of an Appeal Brief. NSN779-1002, pg. 925 (8/16/2012 Advisory
Action).
122. On September 4, 2012, Patent Owner filed a Pre-Appeal Brief
Request for Review. NSN779-1002, pgs. 927–31. Patent Owner repeated its
arguments about the missing limitation from Shaheen I raised in the Response to
the Final Office Action filed on August 3, 2012. NSN779-1002, pgs. 928–30
(9/4/2012 Pre-Appeal Brief). On the same day, Patent Owner also filed a Notice of
Appeal. NSN779-1002, pg. 932.
123. On November 7, 2012, the panel filed a Notice of Panel Decision
from Pre-Appeal Brief Review. NSN779-1002, pgs. 942–43. In the Notice of Panel
Decision, the panel instructed the examiner to re-open prosecution and indicated
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 64
that “A conference has been held. The rejection is withdrawn and a new Office
action will be mailed.” NSN779-1002, pg. 943.
124. On December 18, 2012, the examiner mailed a Non-Final Rejection.
NSN779-1002, pgs. 944–51. In the Non-Final Rejection, the examiner largely
repeated its arguments, but this time with a different Shaheen reference (U.S.
Application 2008/0316971) (“Shaheen II”). NSN779-1002, pgs. 947–50.
125. Finally, on April 18, 2013, Patent Owner submitted a Response and
argued that Shaheen II was not prior art by filing a certified translation of the
Chinese priority document, CN200710104400.7. NSN779-1002, pg. 1016
(4/18/2013 Patent Owner Response). The translated foreign priority document
would have been the first time the examiner saw that Patent Owner had knowledge
of the prior art handover message flow from Wi-Fi (non-3GPP) to LTE (3GPP).
NSN779-1002, pgs. 1019–40 (4/18/2013 Submission of Verified Translation). The
verified translation reveals that, in the PCT specification and U.S. Application,
Patent Owner chose to omit Figure 2 of the original specification and the entire
admitted prior art handover description of Figure 2.
126. Without further rejections from the examiner, a Notice of Allowance
issued on May 23, 2013. NSN779-1002, pgs. 1050–51. After further IDS
statements were submitted, the ’779 Patent was issued on September 17, 2013.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 65
Challenged Claims of the ’779 Patent
127. Claims 1, 4, 9–10, and 11 (“the Challenged Claims”) are challenged in
this Petition. I have reproduced the challenged claims below.
1. [1preamble] A handover processing method, comprising:
[1a] receiving, by a Mobility Management Entity (MME), an attach requestmessage sent by a User Equipment (UE) during a handover from a non 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (non-3GPP) network to a 3rd GenerationPartnership (3GPP) network,
[1b] wherein the attach request message comprises an information element(IE) indicating handover;
[1c] identifying, by the MME, a Packet Data Network Gateway (PDN GW)whose address is used by the UE in the non-3GPP network bycommunicating with a Home Subscriber Server (HSS); and
[1d] requesting, by the MME, the PDN GW to initiate a bearer creationprocedure.
4. [4preamble] The method of claim 1, wherein the requesting a the PDNGW to initiate a bearer creation procedure comprises:
[4a] sending, by the MME, a Create Bearer Request message to the PDNGW; and
[4b] initiating, by the PDN GW, the bearer creation procedure.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the MME identifies the PDN GW byobtaining an identity of the PDN GW from the HSS.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the MME identifies the PDN GW byobtaining the PDN GW address from the HSS.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 66
11. [11preamble] A network element, comprising:
[11a] an obtaining unit, configured to receive an attach request message sentby a User Equipment (UE) during a handover from a non 3rd GenerationPartnership Project (non-3GPP) network to a 3rd Generation PartnershipProject (3GPP) network,
[11b] wherein the attach request message comprises an information elementindicating handover;
[11c] an identifying unit, configured to identify that the attach requestmessage is due to the handover according to the IE indicating handover; and
[11d] a processing unit, configured to identify a Packet Data NetworkGateway (PDN GW) whose address is used by the UE in the non-3GPPnetwork by communicating with a Home Subscriber Server (HSS),
[11e] and request the PDN GW to initiate a bearer creation procedure.
Priority Date
128. I understand from the face of the ’779 Patent that the purported
priority date for the ’779 Patent is May 11, 2007. I also understand that prior art
references published on or before May 11, 2007, are considered prior art to the
’779 Patent, and this is the date I have used for my analysis.
IX. CLAIM INTERPRETATION OF THE ’779 PATENT
129. In my review of the claims of the ’779 Patent, I understand that the
following terms should be given the broadest reasonable interpretation in view of
the specification from the perspective of one skilled in the relevant field. I applied
this standard in my analysis below for all of the claim terms.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 67
“Create Bearer Request message” in Claim 4
130. Claim 4 of the ’779 Patent includes the limitation of a “Create Bearer
Request message.”
131. I understand that in the pending district court litigation Petitioners
have taken the position that this limitation should be construed as “a message titled
Create Bearer Request.” I agree.
132. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have understood that
independent Claim 4 of the ’779 Patent claims the use of a specific message—a
Create Bearer Request message.
133. Further, a person having ordinary skill in the art would have
understood that this specific message having that title—Create Bearer Request—
was used in the Tracking Area Update Procedure (TAU) at the time of the priority
date of the ’779 Patent. NSN779-1021, § 5.3.3.1. Indeed, Figure 5.3.3-1 shows the
message flow diagram for a TAU procedure using a “Create Bearer Request”
message at step 8 (see blue box below):
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 68
NSN779-1021, § 5.3.3 & fig. 5.3.3-1 (blue box added)
134. A person having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the ’779 Patent
would have also understood that the TAU procedure is an integral part of the ’779
Patent specification. In fact, the TAU procedure and its corresponding messages
are referenced throughout the ’779 Patent specification. E.g., NSN779-1001, fig. 7
(showing the mobile phone sending a “TAU Request” message and the MME
responding with a “TAU Accept” message); fig. 13 (same); 1:29–31 (“[T]he
handover procedure is implemented via Attach or Tracking Area Update (TAU)
procedure by the UE in a new access system.”); 1:32–35 (“In the process of
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 69
developing the present invention, the inventor finds that the processing mechanism
of an Attach or TAU process caused by handover differs sharply from the
processing mechanism of a normal Attach/TAU process.”); 1:42–45 (“In the
normal TAU process, the network does not handle the bearers of the user, but in
the TAU process caused by handover, the network needs to recreate all bearers
previously created by the user.”); 5:19–20 (“[T]he reporting unit includes the
processing type information in an IE of a TAU request message.”); 5:33–35
(“[T]he reporting unit sends different TAU request messages to the network based
on different registration types.”); 7:3–13 (“An Update Type IE is added in the
TAU request message. For example, the values of the Update Type IE are 0 and 1.
The value ‘0’ corresponds to Normal TAU (also known as Initial TAU), and
indicates that the TAU request message is a normal TAU request message (also
known as initial TAU request message); and the value ‘1’ corresponds to Handover
TAU, and indicates that the TAU request message is caused by handover.
Alternatively, the UE adds an indication bit in the TAU request message to
indicate that the TAU request message is caused by handover. The original TAU
request message indicates a normal TAU request message (also known as initial
TAU request message).”); 7:16–17 (“[A] Cause IE. The UE sets the Cause IE to
‘TAU due to Handover.’”); 7:20–21 (“For example, a new Handover TAU Request
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 70
message is defined. This message indicates a TAU request message caused by
handover.”).
135. There are plenty more examples in the ’779 Patent specification. It is
my opinion that a person having ordinary skill in the art would have understood
that the inventors of the ’779 Patent were referring to the specific messages in the
TAU procedure and that the inventors would have known that the “Create Bearer
Request” message was a message used in this TAU procedure.
“obtaining unit,” “identifying unit,” and “processing unit” in claim11
136. Claim 11 of the ’779 Patent describes a “network element” that
includes an “obtaining unit,” “identifying unit,” and “processing unit.” Based on
the functions performed by the “network element,” claim 11 relates to an MME,
and the claimed “obtaining unit,” “identifying unit,” and “processing unit” are
components within the MME.
137. I understand that Petitioners in the pending district court litigation
have taken the position that “obtaining unit,” “identifying unit,” and “processing
unit” are means-plus-function claim elements. If that is the case, I understand that
the corresponding structure for these claim terms must be found in the
specification of the ’779 Patent. The ’779 Patent, however, provides no
corresponding structure for these claim elements and, instead, defines them in both
the claims and the specification in purely functional terms. See, e.g., NSN-1001, at
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 71
5:40–6:2. Figure 6, which is purportedly a “structure” of an MME, provides no
actual structural disclosure:
NSN-1001, fig. 6.
138. The following table provides the corresponding structure that has been
identified by the parties in the co-pending district court litigation:
Limitation/Recited Function Petitioner’s ProposedCorresponding
Structure
Patent Owner’sDisclosure of
Structure2
an obtaining unit, configured toreceive an attach requestmessage sent by a UserEquipment (UE) during ahandover from a non 3rdGeneration Partnership Project(non-3GPP) network to a 3rdGeneration Partnership Project(3GPP) network, wherein the
No correspondingstructure
“obtaining unit in anetwork-side networkelement andequivalents thereof”
2 In the Joint Claim Construction Chart in the corresponding district court
litigation, Patent Owner proposed the below structure if the Court determines the
term is subject to 35 U.S.C. § 112 ¶6. NSN-1023, Ex. A, pgs. 20–28.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 72
Limitation/Recited Function Petitioner’s ProposedCorresponding
Structure
Patent Owner’sDisclosure of
Structure2
attach request messagecomprises an informationelement indicatinghandover;an identifying unit, configured toidentify that the attach requestmessage is due to the handoveraccording to the IE indicatinghandover; and
No correspondingstructure
“identifying unit in anetwork-side networkelement andequivalents thereof”
a processing unit, configured toidentify a Packet Data NetworkGateway (PDN GW) whoseaddress is used by the UE in thenon-3GPP network bycommunicating with a HomeSubscriber Server (HSS), andrequest the PDN GW to initiate abearer creation procedure.
No correspondingstructure
“one or moreprocessors in anetwork-side elementand equivalentsthereof”
NSN779-1023, Exh. A, pgs. 20–28.
139. However, for purposes of this declaration, and consistent with the
broadest reasonable interpretation standard, I haven interpreted these claim terms
to mean hardware or software configured to accomplish the function recited in the
claim. In particular, “hardware or software obtaining unit,” “hardware or software
identifying unit,” and “hardware or software processing unit.”
140.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 73
X. COUNT 1: OBVIOUSNESS OF CLAIMS 1, 4, 9–10, AND 11 BASEDON THE ADMITTED PRIOR ART IN VIEW OF SODERBACKA
141. I believe that claims 1, 4, 9–10, and 11 are obvious in view of the ’779
Admitted Prior Art (’779 APA) in light of U.S. Printed Patent Application Number
US 2003/0114158 to inventors Lauri Soderbacka, Jarmo Virtanen, Kari Kauranen,
Hannu Hietalahti, Jari Liukkonen, and Antti Pitkamaki (hereinafter,
“Soderbacka”).
’779 Admitted Prior Art—Chinese Priority Application (NSN779-1002, pgs. 1019–40)
142. The ’779 Admitted Prior Art is found in the translated version of the
earliest filed Chinese priority application in the File History of the ’779 Patent.
Specifically, the ’779 APA in the section titled “Specification,” on page 1025, lines
11–30 (describing prior art Figure 1), page 1026, lines 8–29 (describing the
“existing protocol” in prior art Figure 2), page 1026, lines 29–35 and page 1027,
lines 1–6 (describing the “existing protocol” in prior art Figure 3) , and page 1028,
lines 13–17 (describing Figures 1–4 as prior art). The ’779 APA also includes
Figures 1–4 on pages 1036–37.
143. As Patent Owner stated, Figure 2 “is a flowchart of a handover from a
non-3GPP access system to a 3GPP access system for a UE in the prior art.”
NSN779-1002, pg. 1028, ll. 14–15. That figure is illustrative:
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 74
NSN779-1002, pg. 1036, fig. 2 (blue box added).
144. As the Chinese Priority Document describes:
In the existing protocol, the handover procedure is implemented via
Attach (Attach) . . . procedure by the UE in a new access system. As
shown in FIG. 2, the handover procedure from the non-3GPP access
system to the 3GPP access system of the UE comprises the following
steps:
. . .
3. The UE sends an Attach Request . . . message to the MME.
4. An authentication procedure is performed between the UE, the
MME, and the HSS to obtain the PDN GW address used by the UE.
5. The MME sends a Create Bearer Request message to the obtained
PDN GW address, requesting the network side to initiate bearer
creation procedure. In this way, the service used by the UE in the non-
3GPP AN is re-created in the new access system.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 75
. . .
7. The PDN GW initiates a network-side bearer creation procedure to
create the bearer of the user.
NSN779-1002, pg. 1026, ll. 10–29 (emphasis added).
145. In this, Patent Owner admitted critical information. First, it was
known that the MME receives an Attach Request message sent by a mobile phone
(UE) during handover from a Wi-Fi (non-3GPP) network to a LTE (3GPP)
network: Step 3 (“The UE sends an Attach Request . . . message to the MME.”).
NSN779-1002, pg. 1026, ll. 17–18.
NSN779-1002, pg. 1036, fig. 2 (blue boxes added).
146. Second, it was known that the MME communicates with the HSS to
identify the PDN GW that the mobile phone (UE) was connected to in the non-
3GPP network: Step 4 (“An authentication procedure is performed between the
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 76
UE, the MME, and the HSS to obtain the PDN GW address used by the
UE.”)). NSN779-1002, pg. 1026, ll. 19–20.
NSN779-1002, pg. 1036, fig. 2 (blue boxes added).
147. Third, it was known that the MME requests the PDN GW to initiate a
bearer creation procedure: Step 5 & 7 (“The MME sends a Create Bearer Request
message to the obtained PDN GW address, requesting the network side to initiate
bearer creation procedure. . . . The PDN GW initiates a network-side bearer
creation procedure to create the bearer of the user.”). NSN779-1002, pg. 1026, ll.
21–29.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 77
(Prior Art) (Present Invention)
NSN779-1002, pg. 1036, fig. 2 (blue boxes added).
148. Indeed, in the verified Chinese translation of the priority document,
Figure 2 (the prior art message flow diagram) is identical to Figure 9 (the message
flow diagram of the first embodiment of the ’779 Patent):
NSN779-1002, pg. 1036, fig. 2 & pg. 1039, fig. 9; see also NSN779-1002, pg.1028, ll. 14–15 (“[Figure 2] is a flowchart of a handover from a non-3GPP accesssystem to a 3GPP access system for a UE in the prior art.” (emphasis added));NSN779-1002, pg. 1028, l. 23 (“[Figure 9 is] a flowchart of the first embodimentof the present invention.”).
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 78
149. In other words, the alleged novelty of the ’779 Patent is not directed to
the message flow, as that was prior art. Instead, the only alleged novelty of
exemplary claim 1 is the element “wherein the attach request message comprises
an information element (IE) indicating handover.” Specifically, Patent Owner’s
purported invention was merely to add a known information element (i.e., data
field) to a known message.
BEFORE THE ’779 PATENT
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 79
AFTER THE ’779 PATENT
150. As Patent Owner explains in the verified Chinese translation, this
information element allows the network to distinguish a normal (e.g., “initial”)
Attach procedure from the Attach procedure caused by handover. NSN779-1002,
pg. 1027, ll. 14–17.
Soderbacka et al., US 2003/0114158 (NSN779-1007)
151. United States Printed Patent Application Number US 2003/0114158
to inventors Lauri Soderbacka, Jarmo Virtanen, Kari Kauranen, Hannu Hietalahti,
Jari Liukkonen, and Antti Pitkamaki (hereinafter, “Soderbacka”) was published by
the United States Patent and Trademark Office on June 19, 2003 (NSN779-1007).
Thus, Soderbacka was publicly accessible at least as early as June 19, 2003, and
therefore, I understand Soderbacka is prior art to the ’779 Patent under § 102(b).
During the prosecution of the ’779 Patent application, Soderbacka was disclosed to
the USPTO in an Information Disclosure Statement dated January 27, 2010.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 80
Soderbacka was discussed by the International Searching Authority during the
Chinese PCT application process. However, Soderbacka was never mentioned or
discussed by the United States patent examiner and, importantly, was never
reviewed contemporaneously with the Admitted Prior Art discussed above.
152. Soderbacka is generally directed to systems and methods for
performing an intersystem handover of a mobile phone (UE) accessing a
communication network. NSN779-1007, ¶0001. Soderbacka acknowledges the
desirability of accessing the communication system (i.e., the network) via all
concerned types of radio access technologies (RATs), including non-3GPP
technologies such as Wi-Fi. NSN779-1007, ¶0001. In fact, Soderbacka states,
“[T]he intersystem handover of the invention . . . [can be implemented] for a
handover of a mobile terminal from a WLAN (wireless local area network
[Wi-Fi]) to GSM [3GPP].” NSN779-1007, ¶0039 & fig. 1 (emphasis added).
153. A person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention would
have understood that WLAN (or a wireless local area network) is a non-3GPP
network commonly referred to as Wi-Fi. A person of skill in the art would have
also understood that a GSM network is a 3GPP 2G network. As a result,
Soderbacka explicitly discloses a method of handover between a non-3GPP access
point to a 3GPP base station.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 81
154. Soderbacka discloses an exemplary 3GPP access system. Figure 1 is
an example of a network architecture utilizing a handover method between a 3GPP
2G system (described by the architecture on the right side of the figure below with
the “BSC” and “2G-SGSN” components) and a 3GPP 3G system (described by the
architecture on the left side of the figure below with the “RNC” and “3G-SGSN”
components).
NSN779-1007, fig. 1
155. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have understood that a 3G
access system utilizes different network elements than a 4G access system (as
discussed earlier). In a 3G access system, the mobile phone communicates with a
Base Station (BS) that is connected to a Radio Network Controller (RNC). The
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 82
RNC is connected to a Serving GPRS Support Node (3G-SGSN), which is
connected to a GPRS Support Node (GGSN).
156. Soderbacka discloses that when the mobile phone needs to handover,
“the intersystem handover is initiated by a transmission of the mobile terminal
[e.g., a mobile phone] to the communication network, which transmission
comprises information indicating that an intersystem handover from the radio
access network of the first type [e.g., non-3GPP] to the radio access network
of said second type [e.g., 3GPP] should be performed.” NSN779-1007, at
[Abstract] (emphasis added).
157. While Fig. 1 of Soderbacka shown above depicts a handover between
two different types of 3GPP networks (2G GSM and 3G UMTS), Soderbacka also
discloses that one of these networks can be a non-3GPP network:
Accordingly, the intersystem handover of the invention cannot only be
implemented for WCDMA [3G UMTS] and GSM/GPRS [2G GSM],
but for any systems between which such an intersystem handover may
be of interest, for instance also for a handover of a mobile terminal
from a WLAN (wireless local area network) [Wi-Fi] to GSM
[3GPP].
NSN779-1007, ¶0039. (emphasis added).
158. Given that Soderbacka discloses that the “radio access network of the
first type” can be a non-3GPP access network, and that the “radio access network
of the second type” can be a 3GPP access network, Soderbacka discloses that the
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 83
mobile phone sends a transmission with information indicating that an intersystem
handover from a non-3GPP network to 3GPP network should be performed.
NSN779-1007, ¶0037.
159. More specifically, Soderbacka discloses that the invention provides
for “an information element added to the current connection establishment
signaling.” NSN779-1007, ¶0113 (emphasis added). For example, in the second
embodiment, Soderbacka discloses that “a new information element” could be
“added to the SETUP message transmitted by the mobile terminal to the
communication network.” NSN779-1007, ¶0032 (emphasis added). A person of
ordinary skill in the art would have understood that a “SETUP” message is a part
of the connection establishment signaling for the network described in Soderbacka,
just as an “Attach Request” message is a part of the initial connection
establishment signaling in a 4G network described in the ’779 Patent.
160. The information contained inside the information element disclosed in
Soderbacka “indicat[es] that an intersystem handover . . . should be
performed.” NSN779-1007, at [Abstract] (emphasis added). Indeed, the
information element disclosed in Soderbacka contains the type of radio access
technology that the mobile phone needs to access. Based on the information
element, the network recognizes that the needed radio access technology is not the
current radio access technology, and thus, the information element “indicat[es]
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 84
that an intersystem handover from the radio access network of the first type
to the radio access network of said second type should be performed .”
NSN779-1007, at [Abstract] (emphasis added).
161. It is my opinion that Soderbacka squarely teaches placing an
information element indicating handover in the connection establishment signaling.
This is the equivalent of claim element 1b “wherein the attach request message
comprises an information element (IE) indicating handover.”
Motivation to Combine the ’779 Admitted Prior Art withSoderbacka
162. It would have been obvious to combine the ’779 Admitted Prior Art
and Soderbacka at the time of the ’779 Patent. Specifically, the ’779 APA shows
that the non-3GPP (Wi-Fi) to 3GPP (LTE) handover procedure was well known in
the prior art, prior to the date of invention of the ’779 Patent. With this knowledge,
the person having ordinary skill in the art would have found explicit motivation
within Soderbacka to include necessary information in the handover procedure so
the mobile phone can access “networks for which the mobile terminal is currently
not registered.” NSN779-1007, ¶0031. Indeed, not only does Soderbacka identify a
problem with current handover procedures, but it explicitly recites the inclusion of
an information element to allow the network to make decisions as to the type of
handover to perform. NSN779-1007, ¶0032. Given that Soderbacka explicitly
includes an information element, a person having ordinary skill in the art would
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 85
have had a reasonable expectation of success when using it in conjunction with the
handover procedure outlined in the ’779 APA.
163. Both the ’779 APA and Soderbacka are directed to the same field of
endeavor; namely, handover procedures from a non-3GPP network to a 3GPP
network. Therefore, a person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated
to look for solutions arising in the field (for example, solutions already established
for previous generations of 3GPP) to solve problems arising in the same field
(apply those established solutions to later generations of 3GPP). Indeed, 3GPP
standards and specifications are constantly evolving, and it is common in 3GPP for
previous solutions to be used in subsequent generations.
164. In particular, one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the alleged
invention would have been motivated to use an information (IE) indicating
handover, similar to that described in Soderbacka, to distinguish the type of attach
request message described in the ’779 APA because a person of ordinary skill
would have looked to the 3GPP 3G handover procedures (like that disclosed in
Soderbacka) when designing the 3GPP 4G handover procedures (like that
disclosed in the ’779 APA). In other words, one of ordinary skill in the art at the
time of the invention would have been motivated to look to known methods
(handover information elements) from the third generation network to solve the
similar problems (distinguishing the attach request message to the network) when
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 86
designing the fourth generation mobile phone network. A person having ordinary
skill in the art would have had a reasonable expectation of success given the
teachings of Soderbacka.
165. Further, such an ordinarily skilled person would have found it a
predictable and common sense implementation to use an information element
indicating handover, such as that described in Soderbacka, with the message flow
outlined in the ’779 APA. Soderbacka had long taught the use of information
elements in connection establishment messages sent by the mobile phone to the
network, so merely implementing this known process in the ’779 APA to achieve a
similar result is not inventive. An information element was a known mechanism
for identifying the attach type, and it was not inventive for Patent Owner to use
that mechanism for the very same purpose in a 4G handover between a 3GPP
network and a non-3GPP network.
166. Even further, other 3GPP documents make clear that the ’779 APA
was ready for the exact clarification implemented in the ’779 Patent. Patent Owner
states that the prior art lacked a method to distinguish an initial Attach Request
message from a handover Attach Request message. See NSN779-1002, pg. 1027,
ll. 14–17. Again, this issue was already identified by other 3GPP participants. See,
e.g., NSN779-1014, pg. 1. Indeed, Ericsson stated: “There are two main cases for
selecting a GW (both PDN GW and Serving GW): [1] Initial GW selection, i.e.,
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 87
selecting a new GW for a UE. This typically happens when the UE attaches to the
system. [2] Maintain the selected GW during handovers between 3GPP access
and non-3GPP access.” NSN779-1014, pg. 1 (second emphasis added)). Given
the function of an Attach Request message, Soderbacka supplies the known
technique to yield the predictable result described above. Thus, there is even
further motivation to combine Soderbacka with the ’779 APA, and this renders the
claims of the ’779 Patent obvious.
167. Finally, one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the alleged
invention would have been motivated to distinguish different Attach Request
messages using an information element because doing so is one of a finite number
of identified, predictable solutions. Soderbacka discloses that a problem arises
when the mobile terminal (e.g., mobile phone) seeks to handover to a “radio access
network[] for which the mobile terminal is currently not registered.” NSN779-
1007, ¶0031. Soderbacka discloses the limited set of possibilities that might solve
this problem: (1) “an information element [is] added to the current connection
establishment signaling;” or “[a]lternatively, new messages could be added to the
signaling sequence.” NSN779-1007, ¶¶0113–0114. The ’779 Patent also discloses
the same finite solutions: (1) “an Attach Type IE is added in the Attach Request
message;” or (2) “A new message is defined.” NSN-1001, at 6:19–23. Given the
limited number of solutions to distinguish two messages of the same type, one of
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 88
ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention would have obviously tried one
of these two solutions to solve the problem and had a reasonable expectation of
success in doing so.
Reasons to Consider Soderbacka
168. Soderbacka was disclosed in an information disclosure statement
during prosecution of the ’779 Patent. The examiner, however, never mentioned or
commented on Soderbacka. Further, Soderbacka was never discussed or cited in
combination with the Admitted Prior Art. In fact, Soderbacka was first disclosed in
2010, while the admitted prior art was not disclosed to the patent office until
2013.
Limitation-by-Limitation Obviousness Analysis
169. The following table provides a summary of the disclosed elements by
each prior art reference for Count 1.
Claim Elements Claim Numbering Exemplary Disclosure in PriorArt
Method forHandoverProcessing
1preamble ’779 APA
Network Element 11preamble ’779 APA
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 89
Claim Elements Claim Numbering Exemplary Disclosure in PriorArt
Attach RequestMessage SentDuring Handover
1a, 11a ’779 APA
Informationelement indicatinghandover
1b, 11b, 11c Soderbacka
PDN GWAddress/Identity
1c, 11d, 9, 10 ’779 APA
Bearer CreationProcedure
1d, 11e, 4preamble, 4b ’779 APA
Create BearerRequest message
4a ’779 APA
Method for Handover Processing (Elements 1preamble)
1preamble: “A handover processing method, comprising:”
170. To the extent the preamble is limiting, the ’779 APA teaches a
handover processing method. For example, the ’779 APA discloses that “FIG. 2 is
a flowchart of a handover from a non-3GPP access system to a 3GPP access
system for a UE in the prior art;”
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 90
NSN779-1002, pg. 1028 & pg. 1036, fig. 2.
171. The specification describes the message flow procedure from Figure
2:
In the existing protocol, the handover procedure is implemented
via Attach (Attach) . . . procedure by the UE in a new access
system. As shown in FIG. 2, the handover procedure from the
non-3GPP access system to the 3GPP access system of the UE
comprises the following steps:
. . .
3. The UE sends an Attach Request or a Tracking Area Update
Request message to the MME.
4. An authentication procedure is performed between the UE, the
MME, and the HSS to obtain the PDN GW address used by the UE.
5. The MME sends a Create Bearer Request message to the obtained
PDN GW address, requesting the network side to initiate bearer
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 91
creation procedure. In this way, the service used by the UE in the non-
3GPP AN is re-created in the new access system.
. . .
7. The PDN GW initiates a network-side bearer creation procedure to
create the bearer of the user.
NSN779-1002, pg. 1026, ll. 10–29 (emphasis added).
172. Thus, element 1preamble is disclosed in the ’779 APA.
Network Element (Element 11preamble)
11preamble: “A network element, comprising:”
173. The ’779 APA discloses a network element. For example:
FIG. 1 shows system architecture of an evolved network in the prior
art;
NSN779-1002, pg. 1028, l. 13.
FIG 1 shows system architecture of the evolved network. The
architecture includes:
. . .
a Mobile Management Entity (MME), responsible for control plane
mobility management, including user context and Mobility state
management, and allocation of temporary mobile subscriber
identifiers;. . .
NSN779-1002, pg. 1025, ll. 9–16.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 92
NSN779-1002, pg. 1036, fig. 1 (blue box added).
174. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have understood that a
network entity that is “responsible for control plane mobility management” would
be involved in the handover process. Thus, claim element 11preamble is met by the
’779 APA.
Attach Request Message Sent During Handover (Elements 1a &11a)
1a: “receiving, by a Mobility Management Entity (MME), an attach requestmessage sent by a User Equipment (UE) during a handover from a non 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (non-3GPP) network to a 3rd GenerationPartnership (3GPP) network”
11a: “an obtaining unit, configured to receive an attach request message sentby a User Equipment (UE) during a handover from a non 3rd Generation
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 93
Partnership Project (non-3GPP) network to a 3rd Generation PartnershipProject (3GPP) network,”
175. The ’779 APA discloses receiving, by a Mobility Management Entity
(MME), an attach request message sent by a User Equipment (UE) during a
handover from a non 3rd Generation Partnership Project (non-3GPP) network to a
3rd Generation Partnership (3GPP) network.
176. The ’779 APA also discloses a network element having software of
hardware configured to receive an attach request message sent by a User
Equipment (UE) during a handover from a non 3rd Generation Partnership Project
(non-3GPP) network to a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) network (i.e.,
an obtaining unit).
177. The ’779 APA discloses:
FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a handover from a non-3GPP access system to
a 3GPP access system for a UE in the prior art;
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 94
In the existing protocol, the handover procedure is implemented via
Attach (Attach) or Tracking Area Update (TAU) procedure by the UE
in a new access system. As shown in FIG. 2, the handover
procedure from the non-3GPP access system to the 3GPP access
system of the UE comprises the following steps:
. . .
3. The UE sends an Attach Request . . . message to the MME.
NSN779-1002, pg. 1026, ll. 10–18; pg. 1028, ll. 14–15 & pg. 1036, fig. 2(emphasis and blue boxes added).
178. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have understood that
when the mobile phone (UE) sends an Attach Request message to the MME, the
MME receives that Attach Request message. As stated, the procedure occurs
during handover from the non-3GPP access system to the 3GPP access system.
179. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have also understood a
network element that is capable of receiving a message, like an MME, must have
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 95
hardware or software configured to receive those messages (i.e., an obtaining unit).
Given that the ’779 APA discloses an MME capable of receiving an Attach
Request message sent by a mobile phone (UE) during a handover from a non-
3GPP (Wi-Fi) network to a 3GPP network (LTE), the ’779 APA discloses an
obtaining unit configured to receive an Attach Request message sent by a mobile
phone (UE) during a handover from a non-3GPP network to a 3GPP network.
180. Thus, elements 1a and 11a are disclosed in the ’779 APA.
Information Element Indicating Handover (Elements 1b, 11b, and11c)
1b: “wherein the attach request message comprises an information element(IE) indicating handover;”
11b: “wherein the attach request message comprises an information elementindicating handover;”
11c: “an identifying unit, configured to identify that the attach requestmessage is due to the handover according to the IE indicating handover and;”
181. Soderbacka discloses a message sent by the mobile phone into the
network comprising an information element indicating handover and a network
element configured to identify that the message is due to the handover according to
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 96
the IE indicating handover and software or hardware configured to identify the
contents of that information element (i.e., an identifying unit). For example,
Soderbacka discloses that the mobile phone sends a transmission which comprises
information indicating that intersystem (e.g., non-3GPP to 3GPP) handover should
take place:
In order to enable an access to the communication network with a
radio access technology required or desired by the mobile terminal,
the intersystem handover is initiated by a transmission of the mobile
terminal [i.e., UE] to the communication network, which
transmission comprises information indicating that an
intersystem handover from the radio access network of the first
type to the radio access network of said second type should be
performed.
NSN779-1007, at [Abstract].
182. Soderbacka also discloses that the radio access network of the first
type could be a non-3GPP (Wi-Fi) network and the radio access network of the
second type could be a 3GPP network:
Accordingly, the intersystem handover of the invention [could be] . . .
for any systems between which such an intersystem handover may be
of interest, for instance . . . for a handover of a mobile terminal
from a WLAN (wireless local area network [Wi-Fi]) to GSM
[3GPP 2G] . . . .
NSN779-1007, ¶0039 (emphasis added).
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 97
183. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have understood that a
WLAN system is a non-3GPP network commonly referred to as Wi-Fi and that
GSM is a 2G 3GPP network.
184. Further, Soderbacka discloses that the “information indicating . . . an
intersystem handover” is contained in an information element:
The mobile terminal further comprises means for signaling a request
for a preferred radio access technology to the communication network
in an information element added to the current connection
establishment signaling.
NSN779-1007, ¶0113 (emphasis added)).
185. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have understood that
Soderbacka discloses an information element containing a radio access technology
and that this radio access technology indicates handover. In Soderbacka, the radio
access technology is referred to as “service related information”:
Based on a service related information provided by the mobile
terminal at the beginning of a call, the mobile terminal is handed
over, if a handover is required for this service.
NSN779-1007, ¶0031.
186. In other words, a person having ordinary skill in the art would have
understood that Soderbacka discloses that the service related information in the
information element is used to indicate handover. Specifically, when the service
related information contained in the information element does not match the
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 98
service currently being provided to the mobile phone (terminal), “the mobile
terminal is handed over.” NSN779-1007, ¶0031. Thus, a person having ordinary
skill in the art would have understood that the information contained within the
information element indicates handover.
187. In Soderbacka, the information element indicating handover is
contained in a message that establishes an initial connection between the mobile
phone and the network. An Attach Request message also establishes an initial
connection between the mobile phone and the network. A person having ordinary
skill in the art would have understood that there are various ways to describe 3G
and 4G systems, but in both systems, the mobile phone must establish an initial
connection to the network in order to receive service. The ’779 Patent specification
(and the ’779 APA) discloses that the purpose of the Attach Request message is to
establish the initial connection between the mobile phone and the network. This
same message is also where the information element is located in Soderbacka:
“[A]n information element [is] added to the current connection establishment
signaling.” NSN779-1007, ¶0113 (emphasis added)).
188. Finally, a person having ordinary skill in the art would have
understood that the network entity receiving the message with the information
element in Soderbacka would contain hardware or software configured to identify
the contents of that information element and, therefore, would contain an
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 99
identifying unit configured to identify that the attach request message is due to the
handover according to the IE indicating handover.
189. As a result, Soderbacka discloses claim elements 1b, 11b, and 11c.
PDN GW Address/Identity (Elements 1c, 11d, 9, 10)
1c: “identifying, by the MME, a Packet Data Network Gateway (PDN GW)whose address is used by the UE in the non-3GPP network bycommunicating with a Home Subscriber Server (HSS)”
11d: “a processing unit, configured to identify a Packet Data NetworkGateway (PDN GW) whose address is used by the non-3GPP network bycommunicating with a Home Subscriber Service (HSS),”
9: “The method of claim 1, wherein the MME identifies the PDN GW byobtaining an identity of the PDN GW from the HSS.”
10: “The method of claim 1, wherein the MME identifies the PDN GW byobtaining the PDN GW address from the HSS.”
190. The ’779 APA discloses identifying, by the MME, a Packet Data
Network Gateway (PDN GW) whose address is used by the UE in the non-3GPP
network by communicating with a Home Subscriber Server (HSS). The ’779 APA
also discloses a method wherein the MME identifies the PDN GW by obtaining an
identity of the PDN GW from the HSS. The ’779 APA also discloses a method
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 100
wherein the MME identifies the PDN GW by obtaining the PDN GW address from
the HSS. Finally, the ’779 APA also discloses hardware or software configured to
identify a Packet Data Network Gateway (PDN GW) whose address is used by the
non-3GPP network by communicating with a Home Subscriber Service (HSS) (i.e.,
a processing unit).
191. For example, the ’779 APA discloses that Figure 2 “is a flowchart of a
handover from a non-3GPP access system to a 3GPP access system for a UE in the
prior art;” NSN779-1002, pg. 1028, ll. 14–15.
192. Figure 2 discloses the MME communicating with the HSS to identify
a Packet Data Network Gateway (PDN GW):
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 101
As shown in FIG. 2, the handover procedure from the non-3GPP
access system to the 3GPP access system of the UE comprises the
following steps:
…
4. An authentication procedure is performed between the UE, the
MME, and the HSS to obtain the PDN GW address used by the
UE.
5. The MME sends a Create Bearer Request message to the
obtained PDN GW address, requesting the network side to initiate
bearer creation procedure. In this way, the service used by the UE in
the non-3GPP AN is re-created in the new access system.
NSN779-1002, pg. 1026, ll. 12–23 & pg. 1036, fig. 2 (emphasis & blue boxesadded).
193. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have understood that
in order to “send[] a Create Bearer Request message to the obtained PDN GW
address,” the MME must identify the PDN GW address and its identity. Step 4
makes clear that the identification process happens when the MME obtains the
PDN GW identity (e.g., address) by communicating with the HSS. Furthermore,
while step 4 leaves open the possibility that the PDN GW address could be
obtained by communicating with the mobile phone or the HSS, a person of
ordinary skill in the art would have understood that the possibility to obtain it from
either the HSS or the mobile phone is nevertheless present and disclosed.
194. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have understood that a
network element configured to receive messages in the network would also have
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 102
hardware or software (i.e., a processing unit) configured to identify the contents of
those messages because both the PDN GW and the HSS are defined network
equipment in the 3GPP standards that have a processor, database, communication
capability, etc.
195. Finally, a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention
would have seen no meaningful difference between an “identity” of a PDN GW
and an “address,” of the PDN GW, and Patent Owner’s patent confirms this
understanding. Indeed, claim 9 is the only time the word “identity” appears in the
’779 Patent.
196. Thus, elements 1c, 11d, 9, and 10 are disclosed by the ’779 APA.
Bearer Creation Procedure (Elements 1d, 11e, 4preamble, 4b)
1d: “requesting, by the MME, the PDN GW to initiate a bearer creationprocedure.”
11e: “and request the PDN GW to initiate a bearer creation procedure.”
4preamble: “The method of claim 1, wherein the requesting a the [sic] PDNGW to initiate a bearer creation procedure comprises:”
4b: “initiating, by the PDN GW, the bearer creation procedure.”
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 103
197. The ’779 APA discloses requesting, by the MME, the PDN GW to
initiate a bearer creation procedure. The ’779 APA also discloses a network
element configured to request the PDN GW to initiate a bearer creation procedure.
Finally, the ’779 APA also discloses a method wherein requesting the PDN GW to
initiate a bearer creation procedure comprises initiating, by the PDN GW, the
bearer creation procedure.
198. For example, the ’779 APA discloses Figure 2 “is a flowchart of a
handover from a non-3GPP access system to a 3GPP access system for a UE in the
prior art.” NSN779-1002, pg. 1028, ll. 14–15.
199. Figure 2 discloses that the MME sends a “Create Bearer Request” to
the PDN GW to initiate a bearer creation procedure:
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 104
As shown in FIG. 2, the handover procedure from the non-3GPP
access system to the 3GPP access system of the UE comprises the
following steps:
. . .
5. The MME sends a Create Bearer Request message to the
obtained PDN GW address, requesting the network side to initiate
bearer creation procedure. In this way, the service used by the UE
in the non-3GPP AN is re-created in the new access system.
. . .
7. The PDN GW initiates a network-side bearer creation
procedure to create the bearer of the user.
NSN779-1002, pg. 1026, ll. 12–29 & pg. 1036, fig. 2 (emphasis and blue boxesadded).
200. Thus, the ’779 APA discloses the elements 1d, 11e, 4preamble, and
4b.
Create Bearer Request message (Element 4a)
4a: “sending, by the MME, a Create Bearer Request message to the PDNGW; and”
201. The ’779 APA discloses sending, by the MME, a Create Bearer
Request message to the PDN GW.
202. For example, the ’779 APA states: “The MME sends a Create Bearer
Request message to the obtained PDN GW address . . . .” NSN779-1002, pg.
1026, l. 21 (emphasis added).
203. As a result, the ’779 APA discloses element 4a.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 105
204. Based on Count 1, it is my opinion after reviewing the prior art
patents and submissions to the various standards that the technology claimed is not
new. As such, the methods and devices described and claimed in the ’779 Patent
did not require any technological innovation. This patent resulted from a problem
identified by others in the industry that was solved using a conventional
arrangement of old and well-known elements.
XI. COUNT 2: OBVIOUSNESS OF CLAIMS 1, 4, 9–10, AND 11 BASEDON THE ’779 ADMITTED PRIOR ART IN VIEW OF TDOC S2-072255 (“THE NOKIA SUBMISSION”)
205. In addition to my opinions with respect to the ’779 APA in
combination with Soderbacka, I also believe that claims 1, 4, 9–10, and 11 of the
’779 Patent are obvious in light of the ’779 APA in combination with TDoc S2-
072255 (“the Nokia Submission”).
’779 Admitted Prior Art—Chinese Priority Application (NSN779-1002, pgs. 1019–40)
206. The ’779 APA is also discussed in Section X.A above.
207. The ’779 Admitted Prior Art is found in the translated version of the
earliest filed Chinese priority application in the File History of the ’779 Patent.
Specifically, the ’779 APA in the section titled “Specification,” on page 1025, lines
11–30 (describing prior art Figure 1), page 1026, lines 8–29 (describing the
“existing protocol” in prior art Figure 2), page 1026, lines 29–35 and page 1027,
lines 1–6 (describing the “existing protocol” in prior art Figure 3) , and page 1028,
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 106
lines 13–17 (describing Figures 1–4 as prior art). The ’779 APA also includes
Figures 1–4 on pages 1036–37.
208. As Patent Owner stated, Figure 2 “is a flowchart of a handover from a
non-3GPP access system to a 3GPP access system for a UE in the prior art.”
NSN779-1002, pg. 1028, ll. 14–15. That figure is illustrative:
NSN779-1002, pg. 1036, fig. 2 (blue box added).
209. As the Chinese Priority Document describes:
In the existing protocol, the handover procedure is implemented via
Attach (Attach) . . . procedure by the UE in a new access system. As
shown in FIG. 2, the handover procedure from the non-3GPP access
system to the 3GPP access system of the UE comprises the following
steps:
. . .
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 107
3. The UE sends an Attach Request . . . message to the MME.
4. An authentication procedure is performed between the UE, the
MME, and the HSS to obtain the PDN GW address used by the UE.
5. The MME sends a Create Bearer Request message to the obtained
PDN GW address, requesting the network side to initiate bearer
creation procedure. In this way, the service used by the UE in the non-
3GPP AN is re-created in the new access system.
. . .
7. The PDN GW initiates a network-side bearer creation procedure to
create the bearer of the user.”
NSN779-1002, pg. 1026, ll. 10–29 (emphasis added).
210. In this, Patent Owner admitted critical information. First, it was
known that the MME receives an Attach Request message sent by a mobile phone
(UE) during handover from a Wi-Fi (non-3GPP) network to a LTE (3GPP)
network: Step 3 (“The UE sends an Attach Request . . . message to the MME.”).
NSN779-1002, pg. 1026, ll. 17–18.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 108
NSN779-1002, pg. 1036, fig. 2 (blue boxes added).
211. Second, it was known that the MME communicates with the HSS to
identify the PDN GW that the mobile phone (UE) was connected to in the non-
3GPP network: Step 4 (“An authentication procedure is performed between the
UE, the MME, and the HSS to obtain the PDN GW address used by the
UE.”)). NSN779-1002, pg. 1026, ll. 19–20.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 109
NSN779-1002, pg. 1036, fig. 2 (blue boxes added).
212. Third, it was known that the MME requests the PDN GW to initiate a
bearer creation procedure: Step 5 & 7 (“The MME sends a Create Bearer Request
message to the obtained PDN GW address, requesting the network side to initiate
bearer creation procedure. . . . The PDN GW initiates a network-side bearer
creation procedure to create the bearer of the user.”). NSN779-1002, pg. 1026, ll.
21–29.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 110
(Prior Art) (Present Invention)
NSN779-1002, pg. 1036, fig. 2 (blue boxes added).
213. Indeed, in the verified Chinese translation of the priority document,
Figure 2 (the prior art message flow diagram) is identical to Figure 9 (the message
flow diagram of the first embodiment of the ’779 Patent):
NSN779-1002, pg. 1036, fig. 2 & pg. 1039, fig. 9; see also NSN779-1002, pg.1028, ll. 14–15 (“[Figure 2] is a flowchart of a handover from a non-3GPP accesssystem to a 3GPP access system for a UE in the prior art.” (emphasis added));NSN779-1002, pg. 1028, l. 23 (“[Figure 9 is] a flowchart of the first embodimentof the present invention.”).
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 111
214. In other words, the alleged novelty of the ’779 Patent is not directed to
the message flow, as that was prior art. Instead, the only alleged novelty of
exemplary claim 1 is the element “wherein the attach request message comprises
an information element (IE) indicating handover.” Specifically, Patent Owner’s
purported invention was merely to add a known information element (i.e., data
field) to a known message.
BEFORE THE ’779 PATENT
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 112
AFTER THE ’779 PATENT
215. As Patent Owner explains in the verified Chinese translation, this
information element allows the network to distinguish a normal (e.g., “initial”)
Attach procedure from the Attach procedure caused by handover. NSN779-1002,
pg. 1027, ll. 14–17.
TDoc S2-072255 (“the Nokia Submission”) (NSN779-1008)
216. I downloaded TDoc S2-02255 (“the Nokia Submission”) from the
3GPP website at the following location:
http://www.3gpp.org/ftp/tsg_sa/WG2_Arch/TSGS2_57_Beijing/Docs/
217. The Nokia Submission, on its face, discloses that it was generated for
“3GPP TSG SA WG2 Architecture – S2#57,” which according to the document,
took place in Beijing, China from April 23, 2007, to April 27, 2007. NSN779-
1008, pg. 1. The Attendee list for the S2#57 meeting confirms that this document
was publicly available to persons of ordinary skill in the art at that meeting.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 113
NSN779-1011; NSN779-1010, pg. 7881. The 3GPP file server indicates that the
Nokia Submission was uploaded to the 3GPP file server on April 27, 2007, and
thus, was publicly accessible to anyone with an Internet connection on April 27,
2007. NSN779-1018, pg. 9; see also NSN779-1004, ¶29.
218. To the extent that further proof of the document’s public accessibility
is needed, the Approved Report from meeting #57 confirms my conclusion above.
The Approved Report states that the Nokia Submission was discussed and
approved at the meeting that took place April 23 to April 27, 2007. NSN779-1010,
pg. 14.
219. According to the 3GPP website and in my experience, this means that
the Nokia Submission was publicly available because it was disseminated to
persons having ordinary skill in the art, and it was also uploaded “[s]oon after the
meeting” to the public server. NSN779-1017, pg. 8 (3GPP FAQ). When the Nokia
Submission was uploaded, it received a time stamp, and the website states that “the
time stamp of the Zip file can be relied upon to indicate when the upload
occurred.” NSN779-1017, pgs. 8–9 (3GPP FAQ). Here, the time stamp reads April
27, 2007.
220. But if even further proof is necessary, the 3GPP website also states
that the “zip file for a TDoc [like the Nokia Submission] typically contains a Word
file which has a particular date/time-stamp, which puts an absolute limit on the
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 114
earliest moment that the TDoc could have become available in that form.”
NSN779-1017, pg. 8 (3GPP FAQ). Here, the time stamp on the word version of
the Nokia Submission is April, 27, 2007. All of this confirms that the Nokia
Submission was generated, discussed, and publicly disclosed to the 3GPP
standards participants on April 27, 2007, and was uploaded to the public,
unrestricted server and publicly disseminated on the Internet that same day. Thus, I
understand that the Nokia Submission is prior art to the ’779 Patent under § 102(b).
221. The Nokia Submission is a Change Request directed at prior art
standard TS 23.060. TS 23.060 discloses the message flow diagram and an Attach
procedure for a Combined GPRS/IMSI Attach. Figure 22 illustrates the message
flow diagram:
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 115
NSN779-1008, fig. 22.
222. The Nokia Submission discloses an Attach Request message. The
Nokia Submission further discloses that the Attach Request message can include
an information element indicating to the network element the type of attach that is
being performed. In particular, the Nokia Submission discloses:
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 116
1) In A/Gb mode, the MS [i.e., mobile phone] initiates the attach
procedure by the transmission of an Attach Request (IMSI or
P-TMSI and old RAI, Classmark, CKSN, Attach Type, DRX
Parameters, old P-TMSI Signature) message to the SGSN.
NSN779-1008, pg. 4 (emphasis added).
223. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have understood that
the “Attach Request” message above is the 3G equivalent of the attach request
message required by the claims. A person having ordinary skill in the art would
have also understood that an “MS” is shorthand for a mobile station, which is the
same as the mobile phone (or UE) required by the claims.
224. Moreover, the corresponding description of the message flow diagram
describes the information elements contained within the Attach Request message.
1) In A/Gb mode, the MS [i.e., UE] initiates the attach procedure by
the transmission of an Attach Request (IMSI or P-TMSI and old
RAI, Classmark, CKSN, Attach Type, DRX Parameters, old
P-TMSI Signature) message to the SGSN. . . . 3
3 Acronym definitions are:
A/Gb mode (indicates that the system operates with a functional division that is inaccordance with the use of an A or Gb interface between the radio access networkand the core network) NSN779-1019, at 13;
IMSI (International Mobile Station Identity) NSN779-1019, at 160;
P-TMSI (Packet-Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity) NSN779-1019, at 158;
RAI (Routing Area Identity) NSN779-1019, at 15;
Classmark (Provides the data capabilities of the MS) NSN779-1019, at 110;
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 117
NSN779-1008, pg. 4 (emphasis added). A person of ordinary skill in the art would
have understood that the bolded terms above—e.g., Attach Type—represent
information elements contained within the Attach Request message. See also
NSN779-1027, at 428 (“The attach type is a type 1 information element.”)
225. One of those information elements is called “Attach Type,” and the
Nokia Submission discloses that “Attach Type indicates which type of attach is
to be performed.” NSN779-1008, pg. 4 (emphasis added). A person having
ordinary skill in the art would have understood that the “Attach Type” information
element is used to distinguish the type of Attach Request message.
226. A person having ordinary skill would have needed to look no further
than the Nokia Submission to find that an information element called “Attach
Type” indicates which type of attach is to be performed. NSN779-1008, pg. 4
(emphasis added). Thus, the prior art disclosed a pre-existing mechanism to
distinguish Attach Request messages of different types.
227. While the Attach Type information element in the Nokia Submission
distinguished between (1) an Attach Request message for GPRS only attach, and
(2) an Attach Request message for a combined GPRS/IMSI attach (among other
CKSN (Ciphering Key Sequence Number identifies the ciphering key used forauthenticating the MS by the network) NSN779-1019, at 158; and
DRX Parameters (indicates whether the MS uses discontinuous reception or not)NSN779-1019, at 158.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 118
things), the Nokia Submission nevertheless discloses the tool to distinguish
between different Attach Request messages. A person having ordinary skill in the
art would have understood that using an Attach Type information element to
distinguish which type of attach should be performed does not need to be limited to
GPRS only or GPRS/IMSI combined attach and could indicate other types of
attach as well. Indeed, about a month after the priority document for the ’779
Patent was filed, Patent Owner made this minor modification and copied and
pasted this exact information element and exact description into a TDoc submitted
to the 3GPP standards body. NSN779-1012, pg. 3 (“Attach Type indicates which
type of attach is to be performed, i.e. Initial Attach, or Handover Attach.”).
Motivation to Combine the Admitted Prior Art with the NokiaSubmission
228. A person having ordinary skill would have been motivated to utilize
an “Attach Type” information element indicating which type of attach should be
performed, as disclosed in the Nokia Submission, in the Attach Request message
from the ’779 APA.
229. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art
to combine the ’779 APA and the Nokia Submission. Specifically, the ’779 APA
shows that the non-3GPP (Wi-Fi) to 3GPP (LTE) handover procedure was well
known in the prior art, prior to the date of invention of the ’779 Patent. With this
knowledge, a person having ordinary skill in the art would have found explicit
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 119
motivation within the Nokia Submission to include an information element in the
handover procedure, in order to “indicate[] which type of attach is to be
performed.” NSN779-1008, at 4. In other words, when an Attach Request can be
used for two types of attach, the solution is to include an information element
indicating which one to execute. Indeed, not only does the Nokia Submission
highlight the problem that occurs when Attach Request messages can indicate
multiple types of attach, but it explicitly recites the inclusion of an information
element to indicate the type of attach as its solution. NSN779-1008, pg. 4. Given,
that the Nokia Submission explicitly includes an information element for this
purpose, the a person having ordinary skill in the art would have had a reasonable
expectation of success using it in conjunction with the handover described in the
’779 APA.
230. Merely adding “Handover or Initial Attach” to the contents of the
known information element distinguishing “GPRS only or combined GPRS/IMSI
Attach” obtains the very predictable result of indicating which type of attach
should be performed. The Nokia Submission discloses an Attach Request message
with an Attach Type information element, and a person of ordinary skill would
have been motivated to combine this element with the Attach Request message in
the ’779 APA. The result achieved is the exact same. Indeed, at the very next
meeting, Patent Owner submitted a separate TDoc to 3GPP making this minor
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 120
modification. NSN779-1012, pg. 3 (“Attach Type indicates which type of attach
is to be performed, i.e. Initial Attach, or Handover Attach”). This addition is all
the invention purports to be, and it is not inventive.
231. It is my opinion that a person of ordinary skill in the art would have
been motivated to include an information element indicating which type of attach
is to be performed, as disclosed in the Nokia Submission, to distinguish the attach
request message disclosed in the ’779 APA. In fact, the Nokia Submission
discloses placing the information element in the 3G version of the Attach Request
message. Both the ’779 APA and the Nokia Submission are directed to the same
field of endeavor; namely Attach Request messages. Therefore, a person of
ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to look for solutions arising in
the field (for example, solutions already established for previous generations of
3GPP) to solve problems arising in the same field (apply those established
solutions to later generations of 3GPP). Indeed, 3GPP standards and specifications
are constantly evolving, and it is common in 3GPP for previous solutions to be
used in subsequent generations.
232. In addition, one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the alleged
invention would have been motivated to use an information (IE) indicating which
type of attach should be performed, similar to that described in the Nokia
Submission, to distinguish the attach request message described in the ’779 APA.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 121
A person of ordinary skill would have looked to 3G Attach Request messages (like
that disclosed in the Nokia Submission) when designing a 4G Attach Request
messages (like that disclosed in the ’779 APA). One of ordinary skill in the art at
the time of the invention would have been capable of looking to known methods
(information elements) to solve the similar problems (indicating which type of
attach should be performed) in the context of these Attach Request messages.
233. Further, there was a motivation to combine an information element
indicating which type of attach should be performed, as disclosed in the Nokia
Submission, with the attach request message disclosed in the ’779 APA because
doing so yielded predictable results. Both the ’779 APA and the Nokia Submission
disclose the known method of using an Attach Request message. The Nokia
Submission discloses the use of an information element to distinguish different
attach types, and the ’779 Patent merely combines this prior art element according
to the known method—i.e., placing the information element in the Attach Request
message—to achieve the predictable result of distinguishing which type of attach
should be performed. Indeed, an information element was a known mechanism for
identifying the attach type, and it was not inventive for Patent Owner to use that
mechanism for the very same purpose in a 4G handover between a 3GPP network
and a non-3GPP network.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 122
234. In addition, other 3GPP documents make clear that the ’779 APA was
ready for this exact clarification. Patent Owner states that the prior art lacked a
method to distinguish an initial Attach Request message from a handover Attach
Request message. See NSN779-1002, pg. 1027, ll. 14–17. But this problem was
already identified by other 3GPP participants. See, e.g., NSN779-1014, pg. 1
(“There are two main cases for selecting a GW (both PDN GW and Serving GW):
[1] Initial GW selection, i.e., selecting a new GW for a UE. This typically
happens when the UE attaches to the system. [2] Maintain the selected GW
during handovers between 3GPP access and non-3GPP access .” (second
emphasis added)). Thus, the Nokia Submission supplies the known technique of
including an information element called “Attach Type” to yield the predictable
result of distinguishing which type of attach is to be performed. Thus, there is even
further motivation to combine the Nokia Submission with the ’779 APA.
Limitation-by-Limitation Obviousness Analysis
235. The following table provides a summary of the disclosed elements by
each prior art reference for Count 2.
Claim Elements Claim Numbering Exemplary Disclosure in PriorArt
Method forHandoverProcessing
1preamble ’779 APA
Network Element 11preamble ’779 APA
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 123
Attach RequestMessage SentDuring Handover
1a, 11a ’779 APA
Informationelement indicatinghandover
1b, 11b, 11c The Nokia Submission
PDN GWAddress/Identity
1c, 11d, 9, 10 ’779 APA
Bearer CreationProcedure
1d, 11e, 4preamble, 4b ’779 APA
Create BearerRequest message
4a ’779 APA
Method for Handover Processing (Elements 1preamble)
1preamble: “A handover processing method, comprising:”
236. The ’779 APA discloses this claim element as discussed in Section
X.E.i.
237. To the extent the preamble is limiting, the ’779 APA teaches a
handover processing method. For example, the ’779 APA discloses that “FIG. 2 is
a flowchart of a handover from a non-3GPP access system to a 3GPP access
system for a UE in the prior art;”
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 124
NSN779-1002, pg. 1028 & pg. 1036, fig. 2.
238. The specification describes the message flow procedure from Figure
2:
In the existing protocol, the handover procedure is implemented
via Attach (Attach) . . . procedure by the UE in a new access
system. As shown in FIG. 2, the handover procedure from the
non-3GPP access system to the 3GPP access system of the UE
comprises the following steps:
. . .
3. The UE sends an Attach Request or a Tracking Area Update
Request message to the MME.
4. An authentication procedure is performed between the UE, the
MME, and the HSS to obtain the PDN GW address used by the UE.
5. The MME sends a Create Bearer Request message to the obtained
PDN GW address, requesting the network side to initiate bearer
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 125
creation procedure. In this way, the service used by the UE in the non-
3GPP AN is re-created in the new access system.
. . .
7. The PDN GW initiates a network-side bearer creation procedure to
create the bearer of the user.”
NSN779-1002, pg. 1026, ll. 10–29 (emphasis added).
239. Thus, element 1preamble is disclosed in the ’779 APA.
Network Element (Element 11preamble)
11preamble: “A network element, comprising:”
240. The ’779 APA discloses this claim element as discussed in Section
X.E.ii.
241. The ’779 APA discloses a network element. For example:
“FIG. 1 shows system architecture of an evolved network in the prior art;”
NSN779-1002, pg. 1028, l. 13.
FIG 1 shows system architecture of the evolved network. The
architecture includes:
. . .
a Mobile Management Entity (MME), responsible for control plane
mobility management, including user context and Mobility state
management, and allocation of temporary mobile subscriber
identifiers;. . .
NSN779-1002, pg. 1025, ll. 9–16.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 126
NSN779-1002, pg. 1036, fig. 1 (blue box added).
242. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have understood that a
network entity that is “responsible for control plane mobility management” would
be involved in the handover process. Thus, claim element 11preamble is met by the
’779 APA.
Attach Request Message Sent During Handover (Elements 1a &11a)
1a: “receiving, by a Mobility Management Entity (MME), an attach requestmessage sent by a User Equipment (UE) during a handover from a non 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (non-3GPP) network to a 3rd GenerationPartnership (3GPP) network”
11a: “an obtaining unit, configured to receive an attach request message sentby a User Equipment (UE) during a handover from a non 3rd Generation
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 127
Partnership Project (non-3GPP) network to a 3rd Generation PartnershipProject (3GPP) network,”
243. The ‘’779 APA discloses these claim elements as discussed in Section
X.E.ii.
244. The ’779 APA discloses receiving, by a Mobility Management Entity
(MME), an attach request message sent by a User Equipment (UE) during a
handover from a non 3rd Generation Partnership Project (non-3GPP) network to a
3rd Generation Partnership (3GPP) network.
245. The ’779 APA also discloses a network element having software of
hardware configured to receive an attach request message sent by a User
Equipment (UE) during a handover from a non 3rd Generation Partnership Project
(non-3GPP) network to a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) network (i.e.,
an obtaining unit).
246. The ’779 APA discloses:
FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a handover from a non-3GPP access system to
a 3GPP access system for a UE in the prior art;
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 128
In the existing protocol, the handover procedure is implemented via
Attach (Attach) or Tracking Area Update (TAU) procedure by the UE
in a new access system. As shown in FIG. 2, the handover
procedure from the non-3GPP access system to the 3GPP access
system of the UE comprises the following steps:
. . .
3. The UE sends an Attach Request . . . message to the MME.
NSN779-1002, pg. 1026, ll. 10–18; pg. 1028, ll. 14–15 & pg. 1036, fig. 2(emphasis and blue boxes added).
247. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have understood that
when the mobile phone (UE) sends an Attach Request message to the MME, the
MME receives that Attach Request message. As stated, the procedure occurs
during handover from the non-3GPP access system to the 3GPP access system.
248. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have also understood a
network element that is capable of receiving a message, like an MME, must have
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 129
hardware or software configured to receive those messages (i.e., an obtaining unit).
Given that the ’779 APA discloses an MME capable of receiving an Attach
Request message sent by a mobile phone (UE) during a handover from a non-
3GPP (Wi-Fi) network to a 3GPP network (LTE), the ’779 APA discloses an
obtaining unit configured to receive an Attach Request message sent by a mobile
phone (UE) during a handover from a non-3GPP network to a 3GPP network.
249. Thus, elements 1a and 11a are disclosed in the ’779 APA.
Information Element Indicating Handover (Elements 1b, 11b& 11c)
1b: “wherein the attach request message comprises an information element(IE) indicating handover;”
11b: “wherein the attach request message comprises an information elementindicating handover;”
11c: “an identifying unit, configured to identify that the attach requestmessage is due to the handover according to the IE indicating handover; and,”
250. The Nokia Submission discloses wherein the attach request message
comprises an information element (IE) indicating which type of attach should be
performed and software or hardware configured to identify the contents of that
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 130
information element (i.e., an identifying unit). For example, Figure 22 shows a
combined GPRS/IMSI Attach Procedure in 3G.
NSN779-1008, pg. 3 & fig. 22 (blue box added).
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 131
251. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have understood that
the “Attach Request” above is the 3G version of the attach request message
described in the claims. Further, a POSITA would have understood that the SGSN
was responsible for control plane messaging in a 3G UMTS network, just as an
MME is responsible for control-plane messaging in a 4G LTE network. Moreover,
the corresponding description of the message flow diagram describes the Attach
Request message in detail:
1) In A/Gb mode, the MS [i.e., UE] initiates the attach procedure by
the transmission of an Attach Request (IMSI or P-TMSI and old
RAI, Classmark, CKSN, Attach Type, DRX Parameters, old
P-TMSI Signature) message to the SGSN.4
NSN779-1008, pg. 4 (emphasis added).
252. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have understood that
the elements described as a part of the Attach Request are information elements.
One of those elements is an information element called an “Attach Type.” As the
Nokia Submission discloses, “Attach Type indicates which type of attach is to
be performed . . .” NSN779-1008, pg. 4 (emphasis added).
253. In the Nokia Submission, the information element indicates to the
network whether to perform a “GPRS only or combined GPRS/IMSI” attach.
However, it would have been trivial, or at most obvious, to a person of ordinary
4 See acronym definitions for the same quote above.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 132
skill in the art to add an additional attach reason to the same information element.
For example, it would have been a minor modification to add “Initial or Handover”
attach to the information element already configured to “indicate[] which type of
attach is to be performed.” NSN779-1008, pg. 4.
254. Patent Owner set forth in the ’779 APA that the exact problem to be
solved was that “the network side needs to know whether the normal
Attach . . . procedure or the Attach . . . procedure caused by the handover is
initiated. However, the existing mechanism cannot distinguish them.” NSN779-
1002, pg. 1027, ll. 16–17. As described in the motivation to combine section, this
problem had already been identified by the 3GPP standards body.
255. Therefore, a person having ordinary skill in the art would have needed
to look no further than the Nokia Submission to find that an information element
called “Attach Type indicates which type of attach is to be performed.”
NSN779-1008, pg. 4. Thus, there was a pre-existing mechanism to distinguish
Attach Request messages of different types. In other words, the method to
distinguish between different Attach Types was already present in the prior art.
256. Indeed, about a month after the ’779 APA was filed, Patent Owner
copied and pasted this exact information element and exact description into a
separate TDoc containing this minor modification. NSN779-1012, pg. 3 (“Attach
Type indicates which type of attach is to be performed, i.e. Initial Attach, or
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 133
Handover Attach.” (emphasis added)). Patent Owner also copied nearly identical
language into its own patent application and specification:
The registration processing type may be reported in one of the
following ways:
(1) An Attach Type IE is added in the Attach Request message.
For example, the values of the Attach Type IE are 0 and 1. The value
‘0’ corresponds to Normal Attach (also known as Initial Attach) . . .;
and the value ‘1’ corresponds to Handover Attach, and indicates that
the Attach Request message is caused by handover.
NSN779-1001, at 6:35–44.
257. Finally, a person having ordinary skill in the art would have
understood that the network entity receiving that message—in the Nokia
Submission, the SGSN—would have hardware or software configured to identify
the contents of that message (i.e., an identifying unit) and, therefore, would be
configured to identify that the attach request message indicates which type of
attach should be performed. In the 4G network, a person having ordinary skill in
the art would have understood that the MME receives the attach request message
and, therefore, would have hardware or software (i.e., an identifying unit) to
perform the same function.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 134
258. Therefore I conclude that the Nokia Submission discloses elements
1b, 11b, and 11c.
PDN GW Address/Identity (Elements 1c, 11c, 9, 10)
1c: “identifying, by the MME, a Packet Data Network Gateway (PDN GW)whose address is used by the UE in the non-3GPP network bycommunicating with a Home Subscriber Server (HSS)”
11d: “a processing unit, configured to identify a Packet Data NetworkGateway (PDN GW) whose address is used by the UE in the non-3GPPnetwork by communicating with a Home Subscriber Server (HSS).”
9: “The method of claim 1, wherein the MME identifies the PDN GW byobtaining an identity of the PDN GW from the HSS.”
10: “The method of claim 1, wherein the MME identifies the PDN GW byobtaining the PDN GW address from the HSS.”
259. The ’779 APA discloses these claim elements as discussed in Section
X.E.v.
260. The ’779 APA discloses identifying, by the MME, a Packet Data
Network Gateway (PDN GW) whose address is used by the UE in the non-3GPP
network by communicating with a Home Subscriber Server (HSS). The ’779 APA
also discloses a method wherein the MME identifies the PDN GW by obtaining an
identity of the PDN GW from the HSS. The ’779 APA also discloses a method
wherein the MME identifies the PDN GW by obtaining the PDN GW address from
the HSS. Finally, the ’779 APA also discloses hardware or software configured to
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 135
identify a Packet Data Network Gateway (PDN GW) whose address is used by the
non-3GPP network by communicating with a Home Subscriber Service (HSS) (i.e.,
a processing unit).
261. For example, the ’779 APA discloses that Figure 2 “is a flowchart of a
handover from a non-3GPP access system to a 3GPP access system for a UE in the
prior art;” NSN779-1002, pg. 1028, ll. 14–15.
262. Figure 2 discloses the MME communicating with the HSS to identify
a Packet Data Network Gateway (PDN GW):
As shown in FIG. 2, the handover procedure from the non-3GPP
access system to the 3GPP access system of the UE comprises the
following steps:
…
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 136
4. An authentication procedure is performed between the UE, the
MME, and the HSS to obtain the PDN GW address used by the
UE.
5. The MME sends a Create Bearer Request message to the
obtained PDN GW address, requesting the network side to initiate
bearer creation procedure. In this way, the service used by the UE in
the non-3GPP AN is re-created in the new access system.
NSN779-1002, pg. 1026, ll. 12–23 & pg. 1036, fig. 2 (emphasis & blue boxesadded).
263. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have understood that
in order to “send[] a Create Bearer Request message to the obtained PDN GW
address,” the MME must identify the PDN GW address and its identity. Step 4
makes clear that the identification process happens when the MME obtains the
PDN GW identity (e.g., address) by communicating with the HSS. Furthermore,
while step 4 leaves open the possibility that the PDN GW address could be
obtained by communicating with the mobile phone or the HSS, a person of
ordinary skill in the art would have understood that the possibility to obtain it from
either the HSS or the mobile phone is nevertheless present and disclosed.
264. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have understood that a
network element configured to receive messages in the network would also have
hardware or software (i.e., a processing unit) configured to identify the contents of
those messages because both the PDN GW and the HSS are defined network
equipment in the 3GPP standards that have a processor, database, communication
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 137
capability, etc.
265. Finally, a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention
would have seen no meaningful difference between an “identity” of a PDN GW
and an “address,” of the PDN GW, and Patent Owner’s patent confirms this
understanding. Indeed, claim 9 is the only time the word “identity” appears in the
’779 Patent.
266. Thus, elements 1c, 11d, 9, and 10 are disclosed by the ’779 APA.
Bearer Creation Procedure (Elements 1d, 11e, 4preamble, 4b)
1d: “requesting, by the MME, the PDN GW to initiate a bearer creationprocedure.”
11e: “and request the PDN GW to initiate a bearer creation procedure.”
4preamble: “The method of claim 1, wherein the requesting a the [sic] PDNGW to initiate a bearer creation procedure comprises:”
4b: “initiating, by the PDN GW, the bearer creation procedure.”
267. The ’779 APA discloses these claim elements as discussed in Section
X.E.vi.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 138
268. The ’779 APA discloses requesting, by the MME, the PDN GW to
initiate a bearer creation procedure. The ’779 APA also discloses a network
element configured to request the PDN GW to initiate a bearer creation procedure.
Finally, the ’779 APA also discloses a method wherein requesting the PDN GW to
initiate a bearer creation procedure comprises initiating, by the PDN GW, the
bearer creation procedure.
269. For example, the ’779 APA discloses Figure 2 “is a flowchart of a
handover from a non-3GPP access system to a 3GPP access system for a UE in the
prior art.” NSN779-1002, pg. 1028, ll. 14–15.
270. Figure 2 discloses that the MME sends a “Create Bearer Request” to
the PDN GW to initiate a bearer creation procedure:
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 139
As shown in FIG. 2, the handover procedure from the non-3GPP
access system to the 3GPP access system of the UE comprises the
following steps:
. . .
5. The MME sends a Create Bearer Request message to the
obtained PDN GW address, requesting the network side to initiate
bearer creation procedure. In this way, the service used by the UE
in the non-3GPP AN is re-created in the new access system.
. . .
7. The PDN GW initiates a network-side bearer creation
procedure to create the bearer of the user.
NSN779-1002, pg. 1026, ll. 12–29 & pg. 1036, fig. 2 (emphasis and blue boxesadded).
271. Thus, the ’779 APA discloses the elements 1d, 11e, 4preamble, and
4b.
272.
Create Bearer Request message (Element 4a)
4a: “sending, by the MME, a Create Bearer Request message to the PDNGW; and”
273. The ’779 APA discloses this claim element as discussed in Section
X.E.vii.
274. The ’779 APA discloses sending, by the MME, a Create Bearer
Request message to the PDN GW.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 140
275. For example, the ’779 APA states: “The MME sends a Create Bearer
Request message to the obtained PDN GW address . . . .” NSN779-1002, pg.
1026, l. 21 (emphasis added).
276. As a result, the ’779 APA discloses element 4a.
277. Consequently, based on Count 2, it is my opinion after reviewing the
prior art patents and submissions to the various standards that the technology
claimed is not new. As such, the methods and devices described and claimed in the
’779 Patent did not require any technological innovation. This patent resulted from
a problem identified by others in the industry that was solved using a conventional
arrangement of old and well-known elements.
XII. COUNT 3: OBVIOUSNESS OF CLAIMS 1, 4, 9–10, AND 11 BASEDON TDOC S2-072252 (“THE MOTOROLA SUBMISSION”) IN VIEWOF TDOC S2-072255 (“THE NOKIA SUBMISSION”)
278. In addition to my opinions with respect to the ’779 APA in
combination with the Nokia Submission, I also believe that claims 1, 4, 9–10 and
11 are obvious in light of TDoc S2-072252 (“the Motorola Submission”) in
combination with the Nokia Submission.
TDoc S2-072252 (“the Motorola Submission”) (NSN779-1009)
279. I downloaded TDoc S2-072252 (“the Motorola Submission”) from the
3GPP file server at the following location:
http://www.3gpp.org/ftp/tsg_sa/WG2_Arch/TSGS2_57_Beijing/Docs/
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 141
280. The Motorola Submission, on its face, discloses that it was generated
for 3GPP TSG SA WG2 Architecture – Meeting S2#57, which according to the
document, took place in Beijing, China from April 23, 2007, to April 27, 2007.
NSN779-1009, pg. 1. The Attendee list for the S2#57 meeting confirms that this
document was publicly available to persons of ordinary skill in the art at that
meeting. NSN779-1011; NSN779-1010, pg. 7881. The 3GPP file server indicates
that the Motorola Submission was uploaded to the 3GPP file server on April 27,
2007, and thus, was publicly accessible to anyone with an Internet connection on
April 27, 2007. NSN779-1018, pg. 9; see also NSN779-1004, ¶30.
281. To the extent that further proof of the document’s public accessibility
is needed, the Approved Report from meeting S2#57 confirms my conclusion
above. The Approved Report makes clear that the Motorola Submission was
discussed during the meeting and left for final e-mail approval. NSN779-1010, pg.
27.
282. According to the 3GPP website and in my experience, this means that
the Motorola Submission was publicly available at the meeting, but was also
uploaded “[s]oon after the meeting” to the public server. NSN779-1017, pg. 8
(3GPP FAQ). When the Motorola Submission was uploaded, it received a time
stamp, and the website states that “the time stamp of the Zip file can be relied upon
to indicate when the upload occurred.” NSN779-1017, pgs. 8–9 (3GPP FAQ). Here
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 142
the Motorola Submission time stamp reads April 27, 2007. But if even further
proof is necessary, the 3GPP website also states that the “zip file for a TDoc [like
the Motorola Submission] typically contains a Word file which has a particular
date/time-stamp, which puts an absolute limit on the earliest moment that the TDoc
could have become available in that form.” NSN779-1017, pg. 8 (3GPP FAQ).
Here, the time stamp on the word version of the Motorola Submission is April, 27,
2007. All of this confirms that the Motorola Submission was generated, discussed,
and publicly disclosed to the 3GPP standards participants on April 27, 2007, and
then was uploaded to the public, unrestricted server and publicly disseminated on
the Internet that same day. Thus, I understand that the Motorola Submission is
prior art to the ’779 Patent under § 102(b).
283. The Motorola Submission is titled “Handover from non-3GPP Access
to E-UTRAN (TS 23.402).” NSN779-1009, pg. 1. The document states that “[T]his
contribution proposes a procedure for handover from non-3GPP access to LTE
[4G] access based on PMIPv6 for the scenario where the PMIP client is located at
the serving GW.” NSN779-1009, pg. 1 (emphasis added). The Motorola
Submission introduces the following message flow diagram as Figure 5.x (titled
“Handover from trusted non-3GPP access to E-UTRAN access with PMIPv6 on
S2a and S5 interfaces”) and the following corresponding steps:
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 143
NSN779-1009, fig. 5.x.
284. Given that the Motorola Submission was submitted with substantial
redlines to the 3GPP server, I reproduce the exact screenshots of the relevant steps
below:
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 144
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 145
NSN779-1009, pgs. 3–4.
285. I conclude that the Motorola Submission discloses all elements of the
independent claims of the ’779 Patent except the element requiring “wherein the
attach request message comprises an information element (IE) indicating
handover.”
286. First, the Motorola Submission discloses that the MME receives an
Attach Request message sent by a UE. Step 3: “The UE sends an Attach Request
which is routed by E-UTRAN to an MME instance in the EPS . . . .” NSN779-
1009, pg. 3. A person having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention
would have understood that a mobile phone (UE) does not directly communicate
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 146
with an MME and that, instead, all messages are routed through E-UTRAN as
shown in the blue boxes in message flow diagram.
NSN779-1009, fig. 5.x (blue boxes added)
287. Second, the Motorola Submission discloses that the MME identifies
the PDN GW used by the mobile phone by communicating with an HSS. Step 4
states: “The MME contacts the HSS [Home Subscriber Server] and authenticates
the UE. As part of the authentication procedure, the IP address of the PDN GW
that needs to be used is conveyed to the MME.” NSN779-1009, pg. 4. This step is
also represented in the blue boxes in the message flow diagram:
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 147
NSN779-1009, fig. 5.x (blue boxes added)
288. Third, although not explicitly stated, the Motorola Submission
discloses that the MME requests the PDN GW to initiate a bearer creation
procedure (see Step 6 & 7). The message flow diagram helps clarify this
understanding (see the blue boxes below):
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 148
NSN779-1009, fig. 5.x (blue boxes added)
289. In step 6, the MME transmits a message requesting that a bearer
(connection) be created. Specifically, the MME sends a “Create Default Bearer
Request” message to the Serving GW (step 6), which then sends a Proxy Binding
Update message to the PDN GW (step 7). As the Editor’s note contemplates, this
Proxy Binding Update could provide equivalent functionality of the GTP Create
Bearer Request message. Thus, the Motorola Submission discloses that the 3GPP
working group (and the authors of the Motorola Submission) contemplated that the
last network entity to receive the MME’s request to create a bearer could be the
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 149
PDN GW. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have understood that,
when the MME’s request is finished, the PDN GW would respond to the Create
Bearer Request message by initiating a bearer (connection) creation procedure.
290. Further, a person having ordinary skill would have understood that a
bearer creation procedure can consist of multiple steps, but a single network entity
must initiate this sequence of steps. The first of these steps requires the PDN GW
to signal the Serving GW with a Proxy Binding Acknowledgement that
“effectively switches the PMIPv6 tunnel from the non-3GPP network to the
Serving GW” (see Step 8). The Serving GW, in turn, sends the response to the
MME, and the MME acknowledges the Attach Acceptance to the mobile phone
(UE). Step 11 discloses that the Radio and S1-U bearer is then set up. A person
having ordinary skill in the art would have understood that a Radio bearer is a
wireless connection from the mobile phone to eNB, and the S1 bearer is a wired
connection from the eNB to the Serving GW.
291. Given that the PDN GW is the last entity to receive the message
requesting a bearer creation procedure from the MME, and given that the PDN
GW is the first entity to send a message back into the network that results in the
bearer (connection) being established, a person having ordinary skill in the art
would have understood that the PDN GW initiates the bearer creation procedure in
the Motorola Submission because bearer creation is done in the reverse direction of
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 150
the request. Patent Owner’s earliest priority document describing the prior art
procedure confirms this understanding.
292. Thus, the only missing element from the claims is that the attach
request message contain an information element indicating that the attach request
is due to handover.
TDoc S2-072255 (“the Nokia Submission”) (NSN779-1008)
293. The Nokia Submission is discussed in Section X.B.
294. I downloaded TDoc S2-02255 (“the Nokia Submission”) from the
3GPP website at the following location:
http://www.3gpp.org/ftp/tsg_sa/WG2_Arch/TSGS2_57_Beijing/Docs/
295. The Nokia Submission, on its face, discloses that it was generated for
“3GPP TSG SA WG2 Architecture – S2#57,” which according to the document,
took place in Beijing, China from April 23, 2007, to April 27, 2007. NSN779-
1008, pg. 1. The Attendee list for the S2#57 meeting confirms that this document
was publicly available to persons of ordinary skill in the art at that meeting.
NSN779-1011; NSN779-1010, pg. 7881. The 3GPP file server indicates that the
Nokia Submission was uploaded to the 3GPP file server on April 27, 2007, and
thus, was publicly accessible to anyone with an Internet connection on April 27,
2007. NSN779-1018, pg. 9; see also NSN779-1004, ¶29.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 151
296. To the extent that further proof of the document’s public accessibility
is needed, the Approved Report from meeting #57 confirms my conclusion above.
The Approved Report states that the Nokia Submission was discussed and
approved at the meeting that took place April 23 to April 27, 2007. NSN779-1010,
pg. 14.
297. According to the 3GPP website and in my experience, this means that
the Nokia Submission was publicly available because it was disseminated to
persons having ordinary skill in the art, and it was also uploaded “[s]oon after the
meeting” to the public server. NSN779-1017, pg. 8 (3GPP FAQ). When the Nokia
Submission was uploaded, it received a time stamp, and the website states that “the
time stamp of the Zip file can be relied upon to indicate when the upload
occurred.” NSN779-1017, pgs. 8–9 (3GPP FAQ). Here, the time stamp reads April
27, 2007.
298. But if even further proof is necessary, the 3GPP website also states
that the “zip file for a TDoc [like the Nokia Submission] typically contains a Word
file which has a particular date/time-stamp, which puts an absolute limit on the
earliest moment that the TDoc could have become available in that form.”
NSN779-1017, pg. 8 (3GPP FAQ). Here, the time stamp on the word version of
the Nokia Submission is April, 27, 2007. All of this confirms that the Nokia
Submission was generated, discussed, and publicly disclosed to the 3GPP
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 152
standards participants on April 27, 2007, and was uploaded to the public,
unrestricted server and publicly disseminated on the Internet that same day. Thus, I
understand that the Nokia Submission is prior art to the ’779 Patent under § 102(b).
299. The Nokia Submission is a Change Request directed at prior art
standard TS 23.060. TS 23.060 discloses the message flow diagram and an Attach
procedure for a Combined GPRS/IMSI Attach. Figure 22 illustrates the message
flow diagram:
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 153
NSN779-1008, fig. 22.
300. The Nokia Submission discloses an Attach Request message. The
Nokia Submission further discloses that the Attach Request message can include
an information element indicating to the network element the type of attach that is
being performed. In particular, the Nokia Submission discloses:
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 154
1) In A/Gb mode, the MS [i.e., mobile phone] initiates the attach
procedure by the transmission of an Attach Request (IMSI or
P-TMSI and old RAI, Classmark, CKSN, Attach Type, DRX
Parameters, old P-TMSI Signature) message to the SGSN.
NSN779-1008, pg. 4 (emphasis added).
301. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have understood that
the “Attach Request” message above is the 3G equivalent of the attach request
message required by the claims. A person having ordinary skill in the art would
have also understood that an “MS” is shorthand for a mobile station, which is the
same as the mobile phone (or UE) required by the claims.
302. Moreover, the corresponding description of the message flow diagram
describes the information elements contained within the Attach Request message.
1) In A/Gb mode, the MS [i.e., UE] initiates the attach procedure by
the transmission of an Attach Request (IMSI or P-TMSI and old
RAI, Classmark, CKSN, Attach Type, DRX Parameters, old
P-TMSI Signature) message to the SGSN. . . . 5
5 Acronym definitions are:
A/Gb mode (indicates that the system operates with a functional division that is inaccordance with the use of an A or Gb interface between the radio access networkand the core network) NSN779-1019, at 13;
IMSI (International Mobile Station Identity) NSN779-1019, at 160;
P-TMSI (Packet-Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity) NSN779-1019, at 158;
RAI (Routing Area Identity) NSN779-1019, at 15;
Classmark (Provides the data capabilities of the MS) NSN779-1019, at 110;
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 155
NSN779-1008, pg. 4 (emphasis added). A person of ordinary skill in the art would
have understood that the bolded terms above—e.g., Attach Type—represent
information elements contained within the Attach Request message. See also
NSN779-1027, at 428 (“The attach type is a type 1 information element.”)
303. One of those information elements is called “Attach Type,” and the
Nokia Submission discloses that “Attach Type indicates which type of attach is
to be performed.” NSN779-1008, pg. 4 (emphasis added). A person having
ordinary skill in the art would have understood that the “Attach Type” information
element is used to distinguish the type of Attach Request message.
304. A person having ordinary skill would have needed to look no further
than the Nokia Submission to find that an information element called “Attach
Type” indicates which type of attach is to be performed. NSN779-1008, pg. 4
(emphasis added). Thus, the prior art disclosed a pre-existing mechanism to
distinguish Attach Request messages of different types.
305. While the Attach Type information element in the Nokia Submission
distinguished between (1) an Attach Request message for GPRS only attach, and
(2) an Attach Request message for a combined GPRS/IMSI attach (among other
CKSN (Ciphering Key Sequence Number identifies the ciphering key used forauthenticating the MS by the network) NSN779-1019, at 158; and
DRX Parameters (indicates whether the MS uses discontinuous reception or not)NSN779-1019, at 158.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 156
things), the Nokia Submission nevertheless discloses the tool to distinguish
between different Attach Request messages. A person having ordinary skill in the
art would have understood that using an Attach Type information element to
distinguish which type of attach should be performed does not need to be limited to
GPRS only or GPRS/IMSI combined attach and could indicate other types of
attach as well. Indeed, about a month after the priority document for the ’779
Patent was filed, Patent Owner made this minor modification and copied and
pasted this exact information element and exact description into a TDoc submitted
to the 3GPP standards body. NSN779-1012, pg. 3 (“Attach Type indicates which
type of attach is to be performed, i.e. Initial Attach, or Handover Attach.”).
Motivation to Combine the Motorola Submission with the NokiaSubmission
306. It is my opinion that a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of
the purported invention would have been motivated to use an information element
(IE), like that described in the Nokia Submission, in an Attach Request message
described in the Motorola Submission. In fact, both the Nokia Submission and the
Motorola Submission describe the use of Attach Request messages, and both raise
the same problem: an Attach Request message can be used for multiple purposes.
A person having ordinary skill in the art looking to solve this known problem
would have seen that the Nokia Submission uses an “Attach Type” information
element to solve the problem and, therefore, have expected a very similar result
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 157
when used in the Motorola Submission. Indeed, a person of ordinary skill in the art
looking to solve the problem posed by S2-072252 (the Motorola Submission)
would have only needed to look three TDocs later to S2-072255 (the Nokia
Submission) to find the solution. That is, because both documents were directed to
the solving the same problem, the person of ordinary skill in the art would have
looked to them together to achieve the recited result.
NSN779-1018, pg. 9 (red boxes added)
307. In fact, both the Motorola Submission and the Nokia Submission were
publicly disclosed to the same working group, at the same meeting, and uploaded
to the same 3GPP file server, on the same day, only one minute apart. In other
words, not only was the solution easy to locate, using the information element from
the Nokia Submission in the Motorola Submission would have achieved an
expected result.
308. Further, a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the
invention would have been motivated use an information element (IE), like that
described in the Nokia Submission, in an Attach Request message described in the
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 158
Motorola Submission because both documents relate to the same field of endeavor
and solve similar problems. Specifically, the Motorola Submission and the Nokia
Submission disclose a method of using an Attach Request message in a 3GPP
network. Therefore, a person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated
to look for solutions arising in the field (for example, solutions already established
for previous generations of 3GPP) to solve problems arising in the same field
(apply those established solutions to later generations of 3GPP). Indeed, 3GPP
standards and specifications are constantly evolving, and it is common in 3GPP for
previous solutions to be used in subsequent generations.
309. In particular, one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the alleged
invention would have been motivated to use an information element (IE) indicating
which type of attach should be performed, as described in the Nokia Submission,
to distinguish the type of Attach Request message described in the Motorola
Submission. A person of ordinary skill would have looked to how 3G systems
distinguished Attach Request messages (like that disclosed in the Nokia
Submission) when designing how 4G systems should distinguish Attach Request
messages. One of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the purported invention
would have been capable of looking to known methods (information elements) to
solve the similar problems (indicating which type of attach should be performed).
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 159
310. Further, there were other motivations to combine an information
element indicating which type of attach should be performed, as disclosed in the
Nokia Submission, with the Attach Request message disclosed in the Motorola
Submission. For example, doing so yielded predictable results. Both the Motorola
Submission and the Nokia Submission disclose the known method of using an
Attach Request message. The Nokia Submission discloses the use of an
information element to distinguish different attach types, and the ’779 Patent
merely combines this prior art element according to the known method—i.e.,
placing the information element in the attach request message—to achieve the
predictable result of distinguishing which type of attach should be performed.
Indeed, an information element (i.e., a data field) was a known mechanism for
identifying the attach type, and it was not inventive for Patent Owner to use that
mechanism for the very same purpose in a 4G handover between a 3GPP network
and a non-3GPP network.
311. A person having ordinary skill would have been motivated to utilize
an “Attach Type” information element indicating which type of attach should be
performed, as disclosed in the Nokia Submission, with the Attach Request message
from the Motorola Submission. Merely adding different parameters to the
information element—i.e., adding “Initial or Handover attach” to “GPRS only or
combined GPRS/IMSI attach”—obtains the very predictable result of indicating
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 160
which type of attach should be performed. The Nokia Submission discloses the
known element of an Attach Request message with an Attach Type information
element, and a person of ordinary skill would have been motivated to combine this
element with the Attach Request message in the Motorola Submission. The result
achieved is the exact same and laid out in the Nokia Submission. Indeed, at the
very next meeting, Patent Owner submitted a separate TDoc to the same 3GPP
working group making this minor modification. NSN779-1012, pg. 3 (“Attach
Type indicates which type of attach is to be performed, i.e. Initial Attach, or
Handover Attach”). This modification is all the invention purports to be, and it is
not inventive.
312. Finally, other 3GPP documents make clear that the Motorola
Submission was ready for this exact clarification. Patent Owner states that the prior
art lacked a method to distinguish an initial Attach Request message from a
handover Attach Request message. See NSN779-1002, pg. 1027, ll. 14–17. But this
problem was already identified by other 3GPP participants. See, e.g., NSN779-
1014, pg. 1 (“There are two main cases for selecting a GW (both PDN GW and
Serving GW): [1] Initial GW selection, i.e., selecting a new GW for a UE. This
typically happens when the UE attaches to the system. [2] Maintain the selected
GW during handovers between 3GPP access and non-3GPP access.” (second
emphasis added)). Thus, the Nokia Submission supplies the known technique of
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 161
including an information element called “Attach Type” to yield the predictable
result of distinguishing the Attach Request message. Thus, there is even further
motivation to combine the Nokia Submission with the Motorola Submission.
Limitation-by-Limitation Obviousness Analysis
313. The following table provides a summary of the disclosed elements by
each prior art reference for Count 3.
Claim Elements Claim Numbering Exemplary Disclosure in PriorArt
Method forHandoverProcessing
1preamble The Motorola Submission
Network Element 11preamble The Motorola SubmissionAttach RequestMessage SentDuring Handover
1a, 11a The Motorola Submission
Informationelement indicatinghandover
1b, 11b, 11c The Nokia Submission
PDN GWAddress/Identity
1c, 11d, 9, 10 The Motorola Submission
Bearer CreationProcedure
1d, 11e, 4preamble, 4b The Motorola Submission
Create BearerRequest message
4a The Motorola Submission
Method for Handover Processing (Elements 1preamble)
1preamble: “A handover processing method, comprising:”
314. To the extent the preamble is determined to be limiting, the Motorola
Submission discloses a handover processing method. For example, the Introduction
states:
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 162
This contribution proposes a procedure for handover from non-
3GPP access to LTE access based on PMIPv6 for the scenario where
the PMIP client is located at the serving GW.
NSN779-1009, pg. 1.
315. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have understood that
“LTE” is a 3GPP access, and therefore, the contribution proposes a procedure for
handover from non-3GPP access to 3GPP access. As a further example, the
message flow diagram for the handover procedure is reproduced below:
NSN779-1009, pg. 3 & fig. 5.x.
316. Thus, element 1preamble is disclosed in the Motorola Submission.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 163
Network Element (Element 11preamble)
11preamble: “A network element, comprising:”
317. To the extent the preamble is considered limiting, the Motorola
Submission discloses a network element. For example, the Motorola Submission
discloses that the MME is a network element.
NSN779-1009, pg. 3 & fig. 5.x (blue box added).
318. Thus, the Motorola Submission discloses element 11preamble.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 164
Attach Request Message Sent During Handover (Elements 1a &11a)
1a: “receiving, by a Mobility Management Entity (MME), an attach requestmessage sent by a User Equipment (UE) during a handover from a non 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (non-3GPP) network to a 3rd GenerationPartnership (3GPP) network”
11a: “an obtaining unit, configured to receive an attach request message sentby a User Equipment (UE) during a handover from a non 3rd GenerationPartnership Project (non-3GPP) network to a 3rd Generation PartnershipProject (3GPP) network,”
319. The Motorola Submission discloses receiving, by a Mobility
Management Entity (MME), an attach request message sent by a User Equipment
(UE) during a handover from a non 3rd Generation Partnership Project (non-3GPP)
network to a 3rd Generation Partnership (3GPP) network. The Motorola
Submission also discloses a network element having software or hardware
configured to receive an attach request message sent by a User Equipment (UE)
during a handover from a non 3rd Generation Partnership Project (non-3GPP)
network to a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) network (i.e., an obtaining
unit).
This contribution proposes a procedure for handover from non-
3GPP access to LTE access based on PMIPv6 for the scenario where
the PMIP client is located at the serving GW.
NSN779-1009, pg. 1. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have
understood that “LTE” is a 3GPP access, and therefore, the contribution proposes a
procedure for handover from non-3GPP access to 3GPP access.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 165
320. The Motorola Submission discloses that the MME receives an Attach
Request message sent by a UE during this procedure (see blue boxes below):
NSN779-1009, pg. 3 & fig. 5.x (blue boxes added).
321. Step 3 describes the message in the blue box above:
“3. The UE sends an Attach Request which is routed by E-UTRAN to anMME instance in the EPSC as specified in TS 23.401.”
NSN779-1009, pg. 3.
322. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have understood that
the Attach Request message is sent by a mobile phone (UE), routed through E-
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 166
UTRAN, and then received by the MME. Thus, the MME receives an Attach
Request message sent by a UE.
323. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have also understood a
network element that is capable of receiving a message, like an MME, must have
hardware or software (i.e., an obtaining unit) configured to receive those messages.
Given that the Motorola Submission discloses an MME capable of receiving an
Attach Request message sent by a mobile phone (UE) during a handover from a
non-3GPP (Wi-Fi) network to a 3GPP network (LTE), the Motorola Submission
discloses an obtaining unit configured to receive an Attach Request message sent
by a mobile phone (UE) during a handover from a non-3GPP network to a 3GPP
network.
324. Thus, elements 1a & 11a are disclosed in the Motorola Submission.
Information Element Indicating Handover (Elements 1b, 11b and11c)
1b: “wherein the attach request message comprises an information element(IE) indicating handover;”
11b: “wherein the attach request message comprises an information elementindicating handover;”
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 167
11c: “an identifying unit, configured to identify that the attach requestmessage is due to the handover according to the IE indicating handover; and”
325. The Nokia Submission discloses these claim elements as discussed in
Section XI.D.iv.
326. The Nokia Submission discloses wherein the attach request message
comprises an information element (IE) indicating which type of attach should be
performed and software or hardware configured to identify the contents of that
information element (i.e., an identifying unit). For example, Figure 22 shows a
combined GPRS/IMSI Attach Procedure in 3G.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 168
NSN779-1008, pg. 3 & fig. 22 (blue box added).
327. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have understood that
the “Attach Request” above is the 3G version of the attach request message
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 169
described in the claims. Further, a POSITA would have understood that the SGSN
was responsible for control plane messaging in a 3G UMTS network, just as an
MME is responsible for control-plane messaging in a 4G LTE network. Moreover,
the corresponding description of the message flow diagram describes the Attach
Request message in detail:
1) In A/Gb mode, the MS [i.e., UE] initiates the attach procedure by
the transmission of an Attach Request (IMSI or P-TMSI and old
RAI, Classmark, CKSN, Attach Type, DRX Parameters, old
P-TMSI Signature) message to the SGSN.6
NSN779-1008, pg. 4 (emphasis added).
328. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have understood that
the elements described as a part of the Attach Request are information elements.
One of those elements is an information element called an “Attach Type.” As the
Nokia Submission discloses, “Attach Type indicates which type of attach is to
be performed . . .” NSN779-1008, pg. 4 (emphasis added).
329. In the Nokia Submission, the information element indicates to the
network whether to perform a “GPRS only or combined GPRS/IMSI” attach.
However, it would have been trivial, or at most obvious, to a person of ordinary
skill in the art to add an additional attach reason to the same information element.
For example, it would have been a minor modification to add “Initial or Handover”
6 See acronym definitions for the same quote above.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 170
attach to the information element already configured to “indicate[] which type of
attach is to be performed.” NSN779-1008, pg. 4.
330. Patent Owner set forth in the ’779 APA that the exact problem to be
solved was that “the network side needs to know whether the normal
Attach . . . procedure or the Attach . . . procedure caused by the handover is
initiated. However, the existing mechanism cannot distinguish them.” NSN779-
1002, pg. 1027, ll. 16–17. As described in the motivation to combine section, this
problem had already been identified by the 3GPP standards body.
331. Therefore, a person having ordinary skill in the art would have needed
to look no further than the Nokia Submission to find that an information element
called “Attach Type indicates which type of attach is to be performed.”
NSN779-1008, pg. 4. Thus, there was a pre-existing mechanism to distinguish
Attach Request messages of different types. In other words, the method to
distinguish between different Attach Types was already present in the prior art.
332. Indeed, about a month after the ’779 APA was filed, Patent Owner
copied and pasted this exact information element and exact description into a
separate TDoc containing this minor modification. NSN779-1012, pg. 3 (“Attach
Type indicates which type of attach is to be performed, i.e. Initial Attach, or
Handover Attach.” (emphasis added)). Patent Owner also copied nearly identical
language into its own patent application and specification:
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 171
The registration processing type may be reported in one of the
following ways:
(1) An Attach Type IE is added in the Attach Request message.
For example, the values of the Attach Type IE are 0 and 1. The value
‘0’ corresponds to Normal Attach (also known as Initial Attach) . . .;
and the value ‘1’ corresponds to Handover Attach, and indicates that
the Attach Request message is caused by handover.
NSN779-1001, at 6:35–44.
333. Finally, a person having ordinary skill in the art would have
understood that the network entity receiving that message—in the Nokia
Submission, the SGSN—would have hardware or software configured to identify
the contents of that message (i.e., an identifying unit) and, therefore, would be
configured to identify that the attach request message indicates which type of
attach should be performed. In the 4G network, a person having ordinary skill in
the art would have understood that the MME receives the attach request message
and, therefore, would have hardware or software (i.e., an identifying unit) to
perform the same function.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 172
334. Therefore I conclude that the Nokia Submission discloses elements
1b, 11b, and 11c.
PDN GW Address/Identity (Elements 1c, 11c, 9, 10)
1c: “identifying, by the MME, a Packet Data Network Gateway (PDN GW)whose address is used by the UE in the non-3GPP network bycommunicating with a Home Subscriber Server (HSS)”
11d: “a processing unit, configured to identify a Packet Data NetworkGateway (PDN GW) whose address is used by the UE in the non-3GPPnetwork by communicating with a Home Subscriber Server (HSS),”
9: “The method of claim 1, wherein the MME identifies the PDN GW byobtaining an identity of the PDN GW from the HSS.”
10: “The method of claim 1, wherein the MME identifies the PDN GW byobtaining the PDN GW address from the HSS.”
335. The Motorola Submission discloses identifying, by the MME, a
Packet Data Network Gateway (PDN GW) whose address is used by the UE in the
non-3GPP network by communicating with a Home Subscriber Server (HSS). The
Motorola Submission also discloses a method wherein the MME identifies the
PDN GW by obtaining an identity of the PDN GW from the HSS. The Motorola
Submission also discloses a method wherein the MME identifies the PDN GW by
obtaining the PDN GW address from the HSS. Finally, the Motorola Submission
also discloses hardware or software configured to identify a Packet Data Network
Gateway (PDN GW) whose address is used by the UE in the non-3GPP network
by communicating with a Home Subscriber Server (HSS) (i.e., a processing unit).
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 173
336. For example, Step 4 shows the MME communicating with an HSS,
and the corresponding description of Step 4 discloses that the MME retrieves the
PDN GW address from the HSS during that communication.
4. The MME contacts the HSS and authenticates the UE. As part
of the authentication procedure, the IP address of the PDN GW that
needs to be used is conveyed to the MME.
NSN779-1009, pg. 4 & fig. 5.x (emphasis & blue boxes added).
337. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have understood that a
network element configured to receive messages in the network would also have
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 174
hardware or software (i.e., a processing unit) configured to identify the contents of
those messages because both the PDN GW and the HSS are defined network
equipment in the 3GPP standards that have a processor, database, communication
capability, etc.
338. Finally, a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention
would have seen no meaningful difference between an “identity” of a PDN GW
and an “address,” of the PDN GW, and Patent Owner’s patent confirms this
understanding. Indeed, claim 9 is the only time the word “identity” appears in the
’779 Patent.
339. Thus, the Motorola Submission discloses claim elements 1c, 11d, 9,
and 10.
Bearer Creation Procedure (Elements 1d, 11e, 4preamble, 4b)
1d: “requesting, by the MME, the PDN GW to initiate a bearer creationprocedure.”
11e: “and request the PDN GW to initiate a bearer creation procedure.”
4preamble: “The method of claim 1, wherein the requesting a the [sic] PDNGW to initiate a bearer creation procedure comprises:”
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 175
4b: “initiating, by the PDN GW, the bearer creation procedure.”
340. The Motorola Submission discloses requesting, by the MME, the
PDN GW to initiate a bearer creation procedure. The Motorola Submission also
discloses a network element configured to request the PDN GW to initiate a bearer
creation procedure. Finally, the Motorola Submission also discloses a method
wherein requesting the PDN GW to initiate a bearer creation procedure comprises
initiating, by the PDN GW, the bearer creation procedure.
341. For example, Step 6 and Step 7 show the MME sending a message
that terminates at the PDN GW. The PDN GW then responds to the request by
initiating a procedure to create bearers for the mobile phone. The message flow
diagram helps clarify this understanding (see blue boxes below).
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 176
NSN779-1009, fig. 5.x (blue boxes added).
342. In step 6, the MME transmits a message requesting that a bearer
(connection) be created. Specifically, the MME sends a “Create Default Bearer
Request” message to the Serving GW (step 6), which then sends a Proxy Binding
Update message to the PDN GW (step 7). As the Editor’s note contemplates, this
Proxy Binding Update could provide equivalent functionality of the GTP Create
Bearer Request message. NSN779-1009, pg. 4. Thus, the Motorola Submission
discloses that the 3GPP working group (and the authors of the Motorola
Submission) contemplated that the last network entity to receive the MME’s
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 177
request to create a bearer could be the PDN GW. A person having ordinary skill in
the art would have understood that, when the MME’s request is finished, the PDN
GW would respond to the Create Bearer Request message by initiating a bearer
(connection) creation procedure. The PDN GW imitates the bearer request
procedure because bearer creation is done in the reverse direction of the request.
343. Further, a person having ordinary skill would have understood that a
bearer creation procedure can consist of multiple steps, but a single network entity
must initiate this sequence of steps. The first of these steps requires the PDN GW
to signal the Serving GW with a Proxy Binding Acknowledgement that
“effectively switches the PMIPv6 tunnel from the non-3GPP network to the
Serving GW” (see Step 8). NSN779-1009, pg. 4. The Serving GW, in turn, sends
the response to the MME, and the MME acknowledges the Attach Acceptance to
the mobile phone (UE). NSN779-1009, pg. 4. Step 11 discloses that the Radio and
S1-U bearer is then set up. NSN779-1009, pg. 4. A person having ordinary skill in
the art would have understood that the Radio bearer runs along the wireless
connection from the mobile phone to eNB, and the S1 bearer runs along the wired
connection from the eNB to the Serving GW.
344. Thus, the Motorola Submission discloses claim elements 1d, 11e,
4preamble, and 4b.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 178
Create Bearer Request message (Element 4a)
4a: “sending, by the MME, a Create Bearer Request message to the PDNGW; and”
345. The Motorola Submission discloses sending, by the MME, a Create
Bearer Request message to the PDN GW.
346. For example, the Motorola Submission contemplates the Create
Default Bearer Request message and the Proxy Binding Update Message “suffices
to provide equivalent functionality to the GTP ‘Create Bearer Request’ message
and if additional messages are required.” NSN779-1009, pg. 4 (emphasis added).
This message would travel from the MME to the PDN GW. Although this option
had not been implemented, it was nevertheless disclosed.
347. Thus, element 4a is disclosed in the Motorola Submission.
348. Consequently, based on Count 3, it is my opinion after reviewing the
prior art patents and submissions to the various standards that the technology
claimed is not new. As such, the methods and devices described and claimed in the
’779 Patent did not require any technological innovation. This patent resulted from
a problem identified by others in the industry that was solved using a conventional
arrangement of old and well-known elements.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 179
XIII. COUNT 4: OBVIOUSNESS OF CLAIMS 1, 4, 9–10, AND 11 BASEDON TDOC S2-072252 (“THE MOTOROLA SUBMISSION”) IN VIEWOF SODERBACKA
349. In addition to my opinions with respect to the Motorola Submission in
combination with the Nokia Submission, I also believe that claims 1, 4, 9–10, and
11 are obvious in light of the Motorola Submission in combination with
Soderbacka.
TDoc S2-072252 (“the Motorola Submission”) (NSN779-1009)
350. The Motorola Submission is discussed in Section XII.A above.
351. I downloaded TDoc S2-072252 (“the Motorola Submission”) from the
3GPP file server at the following location:
http://www.3gpp.org/ftp/tsg_sa/WG2_Arch/TSGS2_57_Beijing/Docs/
352. The Motorola Submission, on its face, discloses that it was generated
for 3GPP TSG SA WG2 Architecture – Meeting S2#57, which according to the
document, took place in Beijing, China from April 23, 2007, to April 27, 2007.
NSN779-1009, pg. 1. The Attendee list for the S2#57 meeting confirms that this
document was publicly available to persons of ordinary skill in the art at that
meeting. NSN779-1011; NSN779-1010, pg. 78–81. The 3GPP file server indicates
that the Motorola Submission was uploaded to the 3GPP file server on April 27,
2007, and thus, was publicly accessible to anyone with an Internet connection on
April 27, 2007. NSN779-1018, pg. 9; see also NSN779-1004, ¶30.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 180
353. To the extent that further proof of the document’s public accessibility
is needed, the Approved Report from meeting S2#57 confirms my conclusion
above. The Approved Report makes clear that the Motorola Submission was
discussed during the meeting and left for final e-mail approval. NSN779-1010, pg.
27.
354. According to the 3GPP website and in my experience, this means that
the Motorola Submission was publicly available at the meeting, but was also
uploaded “[s]oon after the meeting” to the public server. NSN779-1017, pg. 8
(3GPP FAQ). When the Motorola Submission was uploaded, it received a time
stamp, and the website states that “the time stamp of the Zip file can be relied upon
to indicate when the upload occurred.” NSN779-1017, pgs. 8–9 (3GPP FAQ). Here
the Motorola Submission time stamp reads April 27, 2007. But if even further
proof is necessary, the 3GPP website also states that the “zip file for a TDoc [like
the Motorola Submission] typically contains a Word file which has a particular
date/time-stamp, which puts an absolute limit on the earliest moment that the TDoc
could have become available in that form.” NSN779-1017, pg. 8 (3GPP FAQ).
Here, the time stamp on the word version of the Motorola Submission is April, 27,
2007. All of this confirms that the Motorola Submission was generated, discussed,
and publicly disclosed to the 3GPP standards participants on April 27, 2007, and
then was uploaded to the public, unrestricted server and publicly disseminated on
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 181
the Internet that same day. Thus, I understand that the Motorola Submission is
prior art to the ’779 Patent under § 102(b).
355. The Motorola Submission is titled “Handover from non-3GPP Access
to E-UTRAN (TS 23.402).” NSN779-1009, pg. 1. The document states that “[T]his
contribution proposes a procedure for handover from non-3GPP access to LTE
[4G] access based on PMIPv6 for the scenario where the PMIP client is located at
the serving GW.” NSN779-1009, pg. 1 (emphasis added). The Motorola
Submission introduces the following message flow diagram as Figure 5.x (titled
“Handover from trusted non-3GPP access to E-UTRAN access with PMIPv6 on
S2a and S5 interfaces”) and the following corresponding steps:
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 182
NSN779-1009, fig. 5.x.
356. Given that the Motorola Submission was submitted with substantial
redlines to the 3GPP server, I reproduce the exact screenshots of the relevant steps
below:
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 183
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 184
NSN779-1009, pgs. 3–4.
357. I conclude that the Motorola Submission discloses all elements of the
independent claims of the ’779 Patent except the element requiring “wherein the
attach request message comprises an information element (IE) indicating
handover.”
358. First, the Motorola Submission discloses that the MME receives an
Attach Request message sent by a UE. Step 3: “The UE sends an Attach Request
which is routed by E-UTRAN to an MME instance in the EPS . . . .” NSN779-
1009, pg. 3. A person having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention
would have understood that a mobile phone (UE) does not directly communicate
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 185
with an MME and that, instead, all messages are routed through E-UTRAN as
shown in the blue boxes in message flow diagram.
NSN779-1009, fig. 5.x (blue boxes added)
359. Second, the Motorola Submission discloses that the MME identifies
the PDN GW used by the mobile phone by communicating with an HSS. Step 4
states: “The MME contacts the HSS [Home Subscriber Server] and authenticates
the UE. As part of the authentication procedure, the IP address of the PDN GW
that needs to be used is conveyed to the MME.” NSN779-1009, pg. 4. This step is
also represented in the blue boxes in the message flow diagram:
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 186
NSN779-1009, fig. 5.x (blue boxes added)
360. Third, although not explicitly stated, the Motorola Submission
discloses that the MME requests the PDN GW to initiate a bearer creation
procedure (see Step 6 & 7). The message flow diagram helps clarify this
understanding (see the blue boxes below):
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 187
NSN779-1009, fig. 5.x (blue boxes added)
361. In step 6, the MME transmits a message requesting that a bearer
(connection) be created. Specifically, the MME sends a “Create Default Bearer
Request” message to the Serving GW (step 6), which then sends a Proxy Binding
Update message to the PDN GW (step 7). As the Editor’s note contemplates, this
Proxy Binding Update could provide equivalent functionality of the GTP Create
Bearer Request message. Thus, the Motorola Submission discloses that the 3GPP
working group (and the authors of the Motorola Submission) contemplated that the
last network entity to receive the MME’s request to create a bearer could be the
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 188
PDN GW. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have understood that,
when the MME’s request is finished, the PDN GW would respond to the Create
Bearer Request message by initiating a bearer (connection) creation procedure.
362. Further, a person having ordinary skill would have understood that a
bearer creation procedure can consist of multiple steps, but a single network entity
must initiate this sequence of steps. The first of these steps requires the PDN GW
to signal the Serving GW with a Proxy Binding Acknowledgement that
“effectively switches the PMIPv6 tunnel from the non-3GPP network to the
Serving GW” (see Step 8). The Serving GW, in turn, sends the response to the
MME, and the MME acknowledges the Attach Acceptance to the mobile phone
(UE). Step 11 discloses that the Radio and S1-U bearer is then set up. A person
having ordinary skill in the art would have understood that a Radio bearer is a
wireless connection from the mobile phone to eNB, and the S1 bearer is a wired
connection from the eNB to the Serving GW.
363. Given that the PDN GW is the last entity to receive the message
requesting a bearer creation procedure from the MME, and given that the PDN
GW is the first entity to send a message back into the network that results in the
bearer (connection) being established, a person having ordinary skill in the art
would have understood that the PDN GW initiates the bearer creation procedure in
the Motorola Submission because bearer creation is done in the reverse direction of
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 189
the request. Patent Owner’s earliest priority document describing the prior art
procedure confirms this understanding.
364. Thus, the only missing element from the claims is that the attach
request message contain an information element indicating that the attach request
is due to handover.
Soderbacka et al., US 2003/0114158 (NSN779-1007)
365. Soderbacka is discussed in Section X.B above.
366. United States Printed Patent Application Number US 2003/0114158
to inventors Lauri Soderbacka, Jarmo Virtanen, Kari Kauranen, Hannu Hietalahti,
Jari Liukkonen, and Antti Pitkamaki (hereinafter, “Soderbacka”) was published by
the United States Patent and Trademark Office on June 19, 2003 (NSN779-1007).
Thus, Soderbacka was publicly accessible at least as early as June 19, 2003, and
therefore, I understand Soderbacka is prior art to the ’779 Patent under § 102(b).
During the prosecution of the ’779 Patent application, Soderbacka was disclosed to
the USPTO in an Information Disclosure Statement dated January 27, 2010.
Soderbacka was discussed by the International Searching Authority during the
Chinese PCT application process. However, Soderbacka was never mentioned or
discussed by the United States patent examiner and, importantly, was never
reviewed contemporaneously with the Admitted Prior Art discussed above.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 190
367. Soderbacka is generally directed to systems and methods for
performing an intersystem handover of a mobile phone (UE) accessing a
communication network. NSN779-1007, ¶0001. Soderbacka acknowledges the
desirability of accessing the communication system (i.e., the network) via all
concerned types of radio access technologies (RATs), including non-3GPP
technologies such as Wi-Fi. NSN779-1007, ¶0001. In fact, Soderbacka states,
“[T]he intersystem handover of the invention . . . [can be implemented] for a
handover of a mobile terminal from a WLAN (wireless local area network
[Wi-Fi]) to GSM [3GPP].” NSN779-1007, ¶0039 & fig. 1 (emphasis added).
368. A person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention would
have understood that WLAN (or a wireless local area network) is a non-3GPP
network commonly referred to as Wi-Fi. A person of skill in the art would have
also understood that a GSM network is a 3GPP 2G network. As a result,
Soderbacka explicitly discloses a method of handover between a non-3GPP access
point to a 3GPP base station.
369. Soderbacka discloses an exemplary 3GPP access system. Figure 1 is
an example of a network architecture utilizing a handover method between a 3GPP
2G system (described by the architecture on the right side of the figure below with
the “BSC” and “2G-SGSN” components) and a 3GPP 3G system (described by the
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 191
architecture on the left side of the figure below with the “RNC” and “3G-SGSN”
components).
NSN779-1007, fig. 1
370. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have understood that a 3G
access system utilizes different network elements than a 4G access system (as
discussed earlier). In a 3G access system, the mobile phone communicates with a
Base Station (BS) that is connected to a Radio Network Controller (RNC). The
RNC is connected to a Serving GPRS Support Node (3G-SGSN), which is
connected to a GPRS Support Node (GGSN).
371. Soderbacka discloses that when the mobile phone needs to handover,
“the intersystem handover is initiated by a transmission of the mobile terminal
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 192
[e.g., a mobile phone] to the communication network, which transmission
comprises information indicating that an intersystem handover from the radio
access network of the first type [e.g., non-3GPP] to the radio access network
of said second type [e.g., 3GPP] should be performed.” NSN779-1007, at
[Abstract] (emphasis added).
372. While Fig. 1 of Soderbacka shown above depicts a handover between
two different types of 3GPP networks (2G GSM and 3G UMTS), Soderbacka also
discloses that one of these networks can be a non-3GPP network:
Accordingly, the intersystem handover of the invention cannot only be
implemented for WCDMA [3G UMTS] and GSM/GPRS [2G GSM],
but for any systems between which such an intersystem handover may
be of interest, for instance also for a handover of a mobile terminal
from a WLAN (wireless local area network) [Wi-Fi] to GSM
[3GPP].
NSN779-1007, ¶0039. (emphasis added).
373. Given that Soderbacka discloses that the “radio access network of the
first type” can be a non-3GPP access network, and that the “radio access network
of the second type” can be a 3GPP access network, Soderbacka discloses that the
mobile phone sends a transmission with information indicating that an intersystem
handover from a non-3GPP network to 3GPP network should be performed.
NSN779-1007, ¶0037.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 193
374. More specifically, Soderbacka discloses that the invention provides
for “an information element added to the current connection establishment
signaling.” NSN779-1007, ¶0113 (emphasis added). For example, in the second
embodiment, Soderbacka discloses that “a new information element” could be
“added to the SETUP message transmitted by the mobile terminal to the
communication network.” NSN779-1007, ¶0032 (emphasis added). A person of
ordinary skill in the art would have understood that a “SETUP” message is a part
of the connection establishment signaling for the network described in Soderbacka,
just as an “Attach Request” message is a part of the initial connection
establishment signaling in a 4G network described in the ’779 Patent.
375. The information contained inside the information element disclosed in
Soderbacka “indicat[es] that an intersystem handover . . . should be
performed.” NSN779-1007, at [Abstract] (emphasis added). Indeed, the
information element disclosed in Soderbacka contains the type of radio access
technology that the mobile phone needs to access. Based on the information
element, the network recognizes that the needed radio access technology is not the
current radio access technology, and thus, the information element “indicat[es]
that an intersystem handover from the radio access network of the first type
to the radio access network of said second type should be performed.”
NSN779-1007, at [Abstract] (emphasis added).
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 194
376. It is my opinion that Soderbacka squarely teaches placing an
information element indicating handover in the connection establishment signaling.
This is the equivalent of claim element 1b “wherein the attach request message
comprises an information element (IE) indicating handover.”
Motivation to Combine the Motorola Submission with Soderbacka
377. It would have been obvious to combine the Motorola Submission and
Soderbacka at the time of the ’779 Patent. Specifically, the Motorola Submission
shows that the non-3GPP (Wi-Fi) to 3GPP (LTE) handover procedure was well
known in the prior art, prior to the date of invention of the ’779 Patent. With this
knowledge, the person having ordinary skill in the art would have found explicit
motivation within Soderbacka to include necessary information in the handover
procedure so the mobile phone can access “networks for which the mobile terminal
is currently not registered.” NSN779-1007, ¶0031. Indeed, not only does
Soderbacka identify a problem with current handover procedures, but it explicitly
recites the inclusion of an information element to allow the network to make
decisions as to the type of handover to perform. Given that Soderbacka explicitly
includes an information element, a person having ordinary skill in the art would
have had a reasonable expectation of success when using it in conjunction with the
handover procedure outlined in the Motorola Submission.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 195
378. Both the Motorola Submission and Soderbacka are directed to the
same field of endeavor; namely, handover procedures from a non-3GPP network to
a 3GPP network. Therefore, a person of ordinary skill in the art would have been
motivated to look for solutions arising in the field (for example, solutions already
established for previous generations of 3GPP) to solve problems arising in the
same field (apply those established solutions to later generations of 3GPP). Indeed,
3GPP standards and specifications are constantly evolving, and it is common in
3GPP for previous solutions to be used in subsequent generations.
379. In particular, one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the alleged
invention would have been motivated to use an information (IE) indicating
handover, similar to that described in Soderbacka, to distinguish the type of Attach
Request message described in the Motorola Submission because a person of
ordinary skill would have looked to the 3GPP 3G handover procedures (like that
disclosed in Soderbacka) when designing the 3GPP 4G handover procedures (like
that disclosed in the ’779 APA). In other words, one of ordinary skill in the art at
the time of the invention would have been motivated to look to known methods
(handover information elements) from the third generation of mobile phone
network to solve the similar problems (distinguishing the attach request message to
the network) when designing the fourth generation mobile phone network. A
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 196
person having ordinary skill in the art would have had a reasonable expectation of
success given the teachings of Soderbacka.
380. Further, such an ordinarily skilled person would have found it a
predictable and common sense implementation to use an information element
indicating handover, such as that described in Soderbacka, with the message flow
outlined in the Motorola Submission. Soderbacka had long taught the use of
information elements in connection establishment messages sent by the mobile
phone to the network, so merely implementing this known process in the Motorola
Submission to achieve a similar result is not inventive. An information element
was a known mechanism for identifying the attach type, and it was not inventive
for Patent Owner to use that mechanism for the very same purpose in a 4G
handover between a 3GPP network and a non-3GPP network.
381. Even further, other 3GPP documents make clear that the Motorola
Submission was ready for this exact clarification. Patent Owner states that the prior
art lacked a method to distinguish an initial Attach Request message from a
handover Attach Request message. See NSN779-1002, pg. 1027, ll. 14–17. Again,
this issue was already identified by other 3GPP participants. See, e.g., NSN779-
1014, pg. 1. Indeed, Ericsson stated: “There are two main cases for selecting a GW
(both PDN GW and Serving GW): [1] Initial GW selection, i.e., selecting a new
GW for a UE. This typically happens when the UE attaches to the system. [2]
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 197
Maintain the selected GW during handovers between 3GPP access and non-
3GPP access.” NSN779-1014, pg. 1 (second emphasis added)). Given the function
of an Attach Request message, Soderbacka supplies the known technique to yield
the predictable result described above. Thus, there is even further motivation to
combine Soderbacka with the Motorola Submission, and this renders the claims of
the ’779 Patent obvious.
382. Finally, one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the alleged
invention would have been motivated to distinguish different attach request
messages using an information element because doing so is one of a finite number
of identified, predictable solutions. Soderbacka discloses that a problem arises
when the mobile terminal (e.g., mobile phone) seeks to handover to a “radio access
network[] for which the mobile terminal is currently not registered.” NSN779-
1007, ¶0031. Soderbacka discloses the limited set of possibilities that might solve
this problem: (1) “an information element [is] added to the current connection
establishment signaling;” or “[a]lternatively, new messages could be added to the
signaling sequence.” NSN779-1007, ¶¶0113–0114. The ’779 Patent also discloses
the same finite solutions: (1) “an Attach Type IE is added in the Attach Request
message;” or (2) “A new message is defined.” NSN-1001, at 6:19–23. Given the
limited number of solutions to distinguish two messages of the same type, one of
ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention would have obviously tried one
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 198
of these two solutions to solve the problem and had a reasonable expectation of
success in doing so.
Limitation-by-Limitation Obviousness Analysis
383. The following table provides a summary of the disclosed elements by
each prior art reference for Count 4.
Claim Elements Claim Numbering Exemplary Disclosure in PriorArt
Method forHandoverProcessing
1preamble The Motorola Submission
Network Element 11preamble The Motorola SubmissionAttach RequestMessage SentDuring Handover
1a, 11a The Motorola Submission
Informationelement indicatinghandover
1b, 11b, 11c Soderbacka
PDN GWAddress/Identity
1c, 11d, 9, 10 The Motorola Submission
Bearer CreationProcedure
1d, 11e, 4preamble, 4b The Motorola Submission
Create BearerRequest message
4a The Motorola Submission
Method for Handover Processing (Elements 1preamble)
1preamble: “A handover processing method, comprising:”
384. The Motorola Submission discloses this claim element as discussed in
Section XII.D.i.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 199
385. To the extent the preamble is determined to be limiting, the Motorola
Submission discloses a handover processing method. For example, the Introduction
states:
This contribution proposes a procedure for handover from non-
3GPP access to LTE access based on PMIPv6 for the scenario where
the PMIP client is located at the serving GW.
NSN779-1009, pg. 1.
386. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have understood that
“LTE” is a 3GPP access, and therefore, the contribution proposes a procedure for
handover from non-3GPP access to 3GPP access. As a further example, the
message flow diagram for the handover procedure is reproduced below:
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 200
NSN779-1009, pg. 3 & fig. 5.x.
387. Thus, element 1preamble is disclosed in the Motorola Submission.
Network Element (Element 11preamble)
11preamble: “A network element, comprising:”
388. The Motorola Submission discloses this claim element as discussed in
Section XII.D.ii.
389. To the extent the preamble is considered limiting, the Motorola
Submission discloses a network element. For example, the Motorola Submission
discloses that the MME is a network element.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 201
NSN779-1009, pg. 3 & fig. 5.x (blue box added).
390. Thus, the Motorola Submission discloses element 11preamble.
Attach Request Message Sent During Handover (Elements 1a &11a)
1a: “receiving, by a Mobility Management Entity (MME), an attach requestmessage sent by a User Equipment (UE) during a handover from a non 3 rd
Generation Partnership Project (non-3GPP) network to a 3 rd GenerationPartnership (3GPP) network”
11a: “an obtaining unit, configured to receive an attach request message sentby a User Equipment (UE) during a handover from a non 3rd GenerationPartnership Project (non-3GPP) network to a 3rd Generation PartnershipProject (3GPP) network,”
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 202
391. The Motorola Submission discloses this claim element as discussed in
Section XII.D.iii.
392. The Motorola Submission discloses receiving, by a Mobility
Management Entity (MME), an attach request message sent by a User Equipment
(UE) during a handover from a non 3rd Generation Partnership Project (non-3GPP)
network to a 3rd Generation Partnership (3GPP) network. The Motorola
Submission also discloses a network element having software or hardware
configured to receive an attach request message sent by a User Equipment (UE)
during a handover from a non 3rd Generation Partnership Project (non-3GPP)
network to a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) network (i.e., an obtaining
unit).
This contribution proposes a procedure for handover from non-
3GPP access to LTE access based on PMIPv6 for the scenario where
the PMIP client is located at the serving GW.
NSN779-1009, pg. 1. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have
understood that “LTE” is a 3GPP access, and therefore, the contribution proposes a
procedure for handover from non-3GPP access to 3GPP access.
393. The Motorola Submission discloses that the MME receives an Attach
Request message sent by a UE during this procedure (see blue boxes below):
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 203
NSN779-1009, pg. 3 & fig. 5.x (blue boxes added).
394. Step 3 describes the message in the blue box above:
3. The UE sends an Attach Request which is routed by E-UTRAN
to an MME instance in the EPSC as specified in TS 23.401.
NSN779-1009, pg. 3.
395. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have understood that
the Attach Request message is sent by a mobile phone (UE), routed through E-
UTRAN, and then received by the MME. Thus, the MME receives an Attach
Request message sent by a UE.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 204
396. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have also understood a
network element that is capable of receiving a message, like an MME, must have
hardware or software (i.e., an obtaining unit) configured to receive those messages.
Given that the Motorola Submission discloses an MME capable of receiving an
Attach Request message sent by a mobile phone (UE) during a handover from a
non-3GPP (Wi-Fi) network to a 3GPP network (LTE), the Motorola Submission
discloses an obtaining unit configured to receive an Attach Request message sent
by a mobile phone (UE) during a handover from a non-3GPP network to a 3GPP
network.
397. Thus, elements 1a & 11a are disclosed in the Motorola Submission.
Information Element Indicating Handover (Elements 1b, 11band 11c)
1b: “wherein the attach request message comprises an information element(IE) indicating handover;”
11b: “wherein the attach request message comprises an information elementindicating handover;”
11c: “an identifying unit, configured to identify that the attach requestmessage is due to the handover according to the IE indicating handover; and”
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 205
398. Soderbacka discloses these claim limitations as discussed in Section
X.E.iv.
399. Soderbacka discloses a message sent by the mobile phone into the
network comprising an information element indicating handover and a network
element configured to identify that the message is due to the handover according to
the IE indicating handover and software or hardware configured to identify the
contents of that information element (i.e., an identifying unit). For example,
Soderbacka discloses that the mobile phone sends a transmission which comprises
information indicating that intersystem (e.g., non-3GPP to 3GPP) handover should
take place:
In order to enable an access to the communication network with a
radio access technology required or desired by the mobile terminal,
the intersystem handover is initiated by a transmission of the mobile
terminal [i.e., UE] to the communication network, which
transmission comprises information indicating that an
intersystem handover from the radio access network of the first
type to the radio access network of said second type should be
performed.
NSN779-1007, at [Abstract].
400. Soderbacka also discloses that the radio access network of the first
type could be a non-3GPP (Wi-Fi) network and the radio access network of the
second type could be a 3GPP network:
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 206
Accordingly, the intersystem handover of the invention [could be] . . .
for any systems between which such an intersystem handover may be
of interest, for instance . . . for a handover of a mobile terminal
from a WLAN (wireless local area network [Wi-Fi]) to GSM
[3GPP 2G] . . . .
NSN779-1007, ¶0039 (emphasis added).
401. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have understood that a
WLAN system is a non-3GPP network commonly referred to as Wi-Fi and that
GSM is a 2G 3GPP network.
402. Further, Soderbacka discloses that the “information indicating . . . an
intersystem handover” is contained in an information element:
The mobile terminal further comprises means for signaling a request
for a preferred radio access technology to the communication network
in an information element added to the current connection
establishment signaling.
NSN779-1007, ¶0113 (emphasis added)).
403. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have understood that
Soderbacka discloses an information element containing a radio access technology
and that this radio access technology indicates handover. In Soderbacka, the radio
access technology is referred to as “service related information”:
Based on a service related information provided by the mobile
terminal at the beginning of a call, the mobile terminal is handed
over, if a handover is required for this service.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 207
NSN779-1007, ¶0031.
404. In other words, a person having ordinary skill in the art would have
understood that Soderbacka discloses that the service related information in the
information element is used to indicate handover. Specifically, when the service
related information contained in the information element does not match the
service currently being provided to the mobile phone (terminal), “the mobile
terminal is handed over.” NSN779-1007, ¶0031. Thus, a person having ordinary
skill in the art would have understood that the information contained within the
information element indicates handover.
405. In Soderbacka, the information element indicating handover is
contained in a message that establishes an initial connection between the mobile
phone and the network. An Attach Request message also establishes an initial
connection between the mobile phone and the network. A person having ordinary
skill in the art would have understood that there are various ways to describe 3G
and 4G systems, but in both systems, the mobile phone must establish an initial
connection to the network in order to receive service. The ’779 Patent specification
(and the ’779 APA) discloses that the purpose of the Attach Request message is to
establish the initial connection between the mobile phone and the network. This
same message is also where the information element is located in Soderbacka:
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 208
“[A]n information element [is] added to the current connection establishment
signaling.” NSN779-1007, ¶0113 (emphasis added)).
406. Finally, a person having ordinary skill in the art would have
understood that the network entity receiving the message with the information
element in Soderbacka would contain hardware or software configured to identify
the contents of that information element and, therefore, would contain an
identifying unit configured to identify that the attach request message is due to the
handover according to the IE indicating handover.
407. As a result, Soderbacka discloses claim elements 1b, 11b, and 11c.
PDN GW Address/Identity (Elements 1c, 11d, 9, 10)
1c: “identifying, by the MME, a Packet Data Network Gateway (PDN GW)whose address is used by the UE in the non-3GPP network bycommunicating with a Home Subscriber Server (HSS)”
11d: “a processing unit, configured to identify a Packet Data NetworkGateway (PDN GW) whose address is used by the UE in the non-3GPPnetwork by communicating with a Home Subscriber Server (HSS),”
9: “The method of claim 1, wherein the MME identifies the PDN GW byobtaining an identity of the PDN GW from the HSS.”
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 209
10: “The method of claim 1, wherein the MME identifies the PDN GW byobtaining the PDN GW address from the HSS.”
408. The Motorola Submission discloses this claim element as discussed in
Section XII.D.v.
409. The Motorola Submission discloses identifying, by the MME, a
Packet Data Network Gateway (PDN GW) whose address is used by the UE in the
non-3GPP network by communicating with a Home Subscriber Server (HSS). The
Motorola Submission also discloses a method wherein the MME identifies the
PDN GW by obtaining an identity of the PDN GW from the HSS. The Motorola
Submission also discloses a method wherein the MME identifies the PDN GW by
obtaining the PDN GW address from the HSS. Finally, the Motorola Submission
also discloses hardware or software configured to identify a Packet Data Network
Gateway (PDN GW) whose address is used by the UE in the non-3GPP network
by communicating with a Home Subscriber Server (HSS) (i.e., a processing unit).
410. For example, Step 4 shows the MME communicating with an HSS,
and the corresponding description of Step 4 discloses that the MME retrieves the
PDN GW address from the HSS during that communication.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 210
4. The MME contacts the HSS and authenticates the UE. As part
of the authentication procedure, the IP address of the PDN GW that
needs to be used is conveyed to the MME.
NSN779-1009, pg. 4 & fig. 5.x (emphasis & blue boxes added).
411. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have understood that a
network element configured to receive messages in the network would also have
hardware or software (i.e., a processing unit) configured to identify the contents of
those messages because both the PDN GW and the HSS are defined network
equipment in the 3GPP standards that have a processor, database, communication
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 211
capability, etc.
412. Finally, a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention
would have seen no meaningful difference between an “identity” of a PDN GW
and an “address,” of the PDN GW, and Patent Owner’s patent confirms this
understanding. Indeed, claim 9 is the only time the word “identity” appears in the
’779 Patent.
413. Thus, the Motorola Submission discloses claim elements 1c, 11d, 9,
and 10.
Bearer Creation Procedure (Elements 1d, 11e, 4preamble, 4b)
1d: “requesting, by the MME, the PDN GW to initiate a bearer creationprocedure.”
11e: “and request the PDN GW to initiate a bearer creation procedure.”
4preamble: “The method of claim 1, wherein the requesting a the [sic] PDNGW to initiate a bearer creation procedure comprises:”
4b: “initiating, by the PDN GW, the bearer creation procedure.”
414. The Motorola Submission discloses this claim element as discussed in
Section XII.D.vi.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 212
415. The Motorola Submission discloses requesting, by the MME, the
PDN GW to initiate a bearer creation procedure. The Motorola Submission also
discloses a network element configured to request the PDN GW to initiate a bearer
creation procedure. Finally, the Motorola Submission also discloses a method
wherein requesting the PDN GW to initiate a bearer creation procedure comprises
initiating, by the PDN GW, the bearer creation procedure.
416. For example, Step 6 and Step 7 show the MME sending a message
that terminates at the PDN GW. The PDN GW then responds to the request by
initiating a procedure to create bearers for the mobile phone. The message flow
diagram helps clarify this understanding (see blue boxes below).
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 213
NSN779-1009, fig. 5.x (blue boxes added).
417. In step 6, the MME transmits a message requesting that a bearer
(connection) be created. Specifically, the MME sends a “Create Default Bearer
Request” message to the Serving GW (step 6), which then sends a Proxy Binding
Update message to the PDN GW (step 7). As the Editor’s note contemplates, this
Proxy Binding Update could provide equivalent functionality of the GTP Create
Bearer Request message. NSN779-1009, pg. 4. Thus, the Motorola Submission
discloses that the 3GPP working group (and the authors of the Motorola
Submission) contemplated that the last network entity to receive the MME’s
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 214
request to create a bearer could be the PDN GW. A person having ordinary skill in
the art would have understood that, when the MME’s request is finished, the PDN
GW would respond to the Create Bearer Request message by initiating a bearer
(connection) creation procedure. The PDN GW imitates the bearer request
procedure because bearer creation is done in the reverse direction of the request.
418. Further, a person having ordinary skill would have understood that a
bearer creation procedure can consist of multiple steps, but a single network entity
must initiate this sequence of steps. The first of these steps requires the PDN GW
to signal the Serving GW with a Proxy Binding Acknowledgement that
“effectively switches the PMIPv6 tunnel from the non-3GPP network to the
Serving GW” (see Step 8). NSN779-1009, pg. 4. The Serving GW, in turn, sends
the response to the MME, and the MME acknowledges the Attach Acceptance to
the mobile phone (UE). NSN779-1009, pg. 4. Step 11 discloses that the Radio and
S1-U bearer is then set up. NSN779-1009, pg. 4. A person having ordinary skill in
the art would have understood that the Radio bearer runs along the wireless
connection from the mobile phone to eNB, and the S1 bearer runs along the wired
connection from the eNB to the Serving GW.
419. Thus, the Motorola Submission discloses claim elements 1d, 11e,
4preamble, and 4b.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 215
Create Bearer Request message (Element 4a)
4a: “sending, by the MME, a Create Bearer Request message to the PDNGW; and”
420. The Motorola Submission discloses this claim element as discussed in
Section XII.D.vii.
421. The Motorola Submission discloses sending, by the MME, a Create
Bearer Request message to the PDN GW.
422. For example, the Motorola Submission contemplates the Create
Default Bearer Request message and the Proxy Binding Update Message “suffices
to provide equivalent functionality to the GTP ‘Create Bearer Request’ message
and if additional messages are required.” NSN779-1009, pg. 4 (emphasis added).
This message would travel from the MME to the PDN GW. Although this option
had not been implemented, it was nevertheless disclosed.
423. Thus, element 4a is disclosed in the Motorola Submission.
424. Consequently, based on Count 4, it is my opinion after reviewing the
prior art patents and submissions to the various standards that the technology
claimed is not new. As such, the methods and devices described and claimed in the
’779 Patent did not require any technological innovation. This patent resulted from
a problem identified by others in the industry that was solved using a conventional
arrangement of old and well-known elements.
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 216
XIV. NO SECONDARY CONSIDERATIONS OF NON-OBVIOUSNESS
425. I have found no evidence of secondary considerations of
nonobviousness that outweigh my conclusion that the claims of the ’779 Patent are
obvious. For example, the addition of an information element into an Attach
Request message has received no praise by others. Indeed, when the 3GPP
standards body adopted the idea to add an “Attach Type” information element to
the attach request message, it was described as a mere “clarification” to the
existing standard. NSN779-1013, pg. 1 (emphasis added). There’s nothing
praiseworthy about a clarification. Further, I find no evidence of a long felt need.
The TDoc adding this “clarification” was proposed by Patent Owner just one
month after the Motorola Submission was adopted and ultimately adopted by the
standards committee just six months after the Motorola Submission. NSN779-
1013, pg. 1 (dated November 2007). In addition, I have found no teaching away by
others or skepticism by experts. In fact, as described above, I have found that
Soderbacka teaches this exact idea in a very similar context. Further, I have found
no copying of the invention by others, no failure of others, and no indications of
commercial success. I understand that Patent Owner believes that infringement is
based on implementation of TS 23.401 and TS 23.402, among other standards.
Even if the standard is implemented in a particular product as alleged by Patent
Owner in the district court litigation, I do not believe that there is any nexus
between the claimed technology and the sales of that product. All of these findings
lead me to conclude that there are no secondary considerations of nonobviousness.
XV. CONCLUSION
426. Based on my findings above, it is clear to me that the Challenged
Claims are not patentable in light of the grounds of rejection outlined herein.
Mark. R. Lanning
Exhibit NSN779-1003, page 217