United States International Trade Commission Washington, D.C
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PUBLIC VERSION UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20436 In the Matter of CERTAIN PORTABLE GAMING CONSOLE SYSTEMS WITH Inv. No. 337-TA-1197 ATTACHABLE HANDHELD CONTROLLERS AND COMPONENTS THEREOF II INITIAL DETERMINATION Administrative Law Judge David P. Shaw Pursuant to the notice of investigation, 85 Fed. Reg. 26492 (May 4, 2020), this is the initial determination in Certain Portable Gaming Console Systems with Attachable Handheld Controllers and Components Thereof II, United States International Trade Commission Investigation No. 337-TA-1197. It is held that no violation of section 337 of the Tariff Act, as amended, has occurred in the importation into the United States, the sale for importation, or the sale within the United States after importation, of certain portable gaming console systems with attachable handheld controllers and components thereof, with respect to asserted claims 1-4, 6-8, 12, and 17-18 of U.S. Patent No. 10,391,393. PUBLIC VERSION TABLE OF CONTENTS Page I. Background ......................................................................................................................... 1 A. Institution of the Investigation; Procedural History.................................................1 B. The Parties ...............................................................................................................3 C. The Accused Products..............................................................................................4 D. The Domestic Industry Products ..............................................................................5 II. Jurisdiction .......................................................................................................................... 5 III. Importation .......................................................................................................................... 6 IV. General Principles of Law .................................................................................................. 7 A. Claim Construction ..................................................................................................7 B. Infringement .............................................................................................................9 1. Direct Infringement ......................................................................................9 2. Indirect Infringement .................................................................................11 a. Induced Infringement .....................................................................11 b. Contributory Infringement .............................................................12 C. Validity ..................................................................................................................13 1. Anticipation................................................................................................13 2. Obviousness ...............................................................................................14 3. Written Description ....................................................................................16 4. Indefiniteness .............................................................................................16 D. Enforceability .........................................................................................................17 1. Kessler Doctrine.........................................................................................17 2. Issue Preclusion .........................................................................................18 PUBLIC VERSION TABLE OF CONTENTS (CONT’D) Page E. Domestic Industry ..................................................................................................18 V. The ’393 Patent ................................................................................................................. 21 A. Overview of the ’393 Patent ..................................................................................21 B. Claim Construction ................................................................................................27 1. Level of Ordinary Skill in the Art ..............................................................27 2. Disputed Constructions ..............................................................................28 a. “[a pair of] confinement structures” (claims 1, 17 and 18)............28 b. “retention mechanism” (claims 12 and 19) ....................................41 c. “first means for attaching an input device to a computing device” (claims 16, 17, 19, and 21) .............................................................57 d. “second means for controlling a movement of a virtual object displayed on said electronic display screen of said computing device” (claims 16, 18, 20, and 22) ...............................................69 e. “structural bridge” (claims 1, 2, 4, 7-10, 12, 17, 19, and 21) ........82 f. “retention member” (claim 21) ......................................................87 g. “passageway” (claims 1 and 17) ....................................................98 h. “the structural bridge configured for adaptation to a computing device” (claim 8) ..........................................................................103 VI. Infringement .................................................................................................................... 108 A. Claim 1 .................................................................................................................108 1. A combination comprising:......................................................................108 2. a computing device; .................................................................................108 3. a pair of confinement structures, ..............................................................115 4. the pair of confinement structures interacting with the computing device and adjacent at least two opposing sides of the computing device, but not more than three sides of the sides of the computing device;.............................121 ii PUBLIC VERSION TABLE OF CONTENTS (CONT’D) Page 5. each of the pair of confinement structures comprising a communication link, each of the communication links configured for electronic communication with the computing device; ............................................125 6. a rigid structural bridge disposed between and secured to the pair of confinement structures, ............................................................................130 7. the rigid structural bridge comprising a passageway between the pair of confinement structures, ............................................................................134 8. the passageway promotes electrical communication between the communication link of a first confinement structure of the pair of confinement structures and the computing device, the passageway further promotes electrical communication between the communication link of a second confinement structure of the pair of confinement structures and the computing device; ....................................................................................143 9. a pair of electronic game control modules, ..............................................146 10. each electronic game control module of the pair of electronic game control modules is secured to and interacts with a corresponding confinement structure of the pair of confinement structures; .......................................147 11. each electronic game control module in electronic communication with the communication link of its corresponding confinement structure, ...........147 12. wherein each electronic game control module is a separate and distinct structure from each of their corresponding confinement structures, forming no structural portion of their corresponding confinement structures, ......152 13. in which each of the pair of confinement structures are separate and distinct structures from the structural bridge, forming no structural portion of the structural bridge. ......................................................................................152 B. Claim 2 .................................................................................................................157 a. The combination of claim 1, ........................................................157 b. in which the rigid structural bridge supports electronics associated with the computing device. ..........................................................157 C. Claim 3 .................................................................................................................158 1. The combination of claim 2, ....................................................................158 iii PUBLIC VERSION TABLE OF CONTENTS (CONT’D) Page 2. in which the computing device further comprising a back, the back provides an internal surface, an external surface and cooperates with the at least two opposing sides of the computing device. .................................................158 D. Claim 4 .................................................................................................................158 1. The combination of claim 3, ....................................................................159 2. in which the rigid structural bridge cooperates with the back of the computing device. ....................................................................................159 E. Claim 6 .................................................................................................................160