In its Order, the Board granted Patent Owner’s request to file a motion to join four related IPR proceedings with the present case. All five proceedings involved the same patent, and the Petitioner included the same parties listed as either Petitioners or co-Petitioners in each of the five proceedings. The four related proceedings, with the respective Petitioners, are as follows:
IPR2014-00280 – Toyota Motor North America, Inc. et al. (“Toyota”);
IPR2014-00281 – Ford Motor Co. et al. (“Ford”);
IPR2014-00289 – America Honda Motor Co., Inc. et al. (“Honda”); and
IPR2014-00291 – Nissan North America, Inc. et al. (“Nissan”).
All of the Petitioners noted that any motion for joinder would be opposed on the basis that the allegedly different Petitioners “would likely not have the same interests in a single proceeding and may not be able to speak with a common voice in connection with a single Petition.”
The Board decided that additional briefing regarding joinder was warranted, and therefore ordered that Patent Owner may file its motion and Petitioners may file an opposition. The Board held that a reply was not necessary and therefore did not authorize Patent Owner to file a reply.
Subaru of America, Inc. et al. v. Cruise Control Tech. LLC, IPR2014-00279
Paper 16: Order on Conduct of the Proceeding
Dated: April 10, 2014
Patent 6,324,463
Before: Josiah C. Cocks, Hyun J. Jung, and George R. Hoskins
Written by: Cocks