Presidio Components, Inc. v. Avx Corporation ( 2020 )


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  • Case: 19-2181      Document: 50           Page: 1        Filed: 09/23/2020
    NOTE: This disposition is nonprecedential.
    United States Court of Appeals
    for the Federal Circuit
    ______________________
    PRESIDIO COMPONENTS, INC.,
    Appellant
    v.
    AVX CORPORATION,
    Appellee
    ______________________
    2019-2181
    ______________________
    Appeal from the United States Patent and Trademark
    Office, Patent Trial and Appeal Board in No. IPR2018-
    00167.
    -----------------------------------------------------------------
    PRESIDIO COMPONENTS, INC.,
    Appellant
    v.
    AVX CORPORATION,
    Appellee
    ______________________
    2019-2182
    ______________________
    Case: 19-2181     Document: 50     Page: 2     Filed: 09/23/2020
    2              PRESIDIO COMPONENTS, INC.   v. AVX CORPORATION
    Appeal from the United States Patent and Trademark
    Office, Patent Trial and Appeal Board in No. IPR2018-
    00292.
    ______________________
    Decided: September 23, 2020
    ______________________
    GREGORY F. AHRENS, Wood, Herron & Evans, LLP, Cin-
    cinnati, OH, for appellant. Also represented by BRETT A.
    SCHATZ.
    MICHAEL ROBERT HOUSTON, Foley & Lardner LLP, Chi-
    cago, IL, argued for appellee. Also represented by RUBEN
    JOSE RODRIGUES, Boston, MA.          Also represented by
    NICHOLAS LAGERWALL, Madison, WI, in 2019-2182.
    ______________________
    Before O’MALLEY, BRYSON, and REYNA, Circuit Judges.
    REYNA, Circuit Judge.
    In these two consolidated cases, Presidio Components,
    Inc., appeals the final written decisions of the U.S. Patent
    Trial and Appeal Board invalidating the challenged claims
    of two patents directed to broadband capacitor technology.
    Because the Board’s findings were supported by substan-
    tial evidence, we affirm in both cases.
    BACKGROUND
    A. Patents at Issue
    A capacitor is a device that stores energy in an electric
    field when connected to an electrical circuit. Capacitors are
    typically formed by parallel plates of conductive material,
    such as metal, that are separated by non-conductive or “di-
    electric” material, such as ceramic, so that an electric field
    can form between the plates. U.S. Patent No. 7,075,776
    (the ’776 patent) and U.S. Patent No. 7,307,829 (the ’829
    Case: 19-2181    Document: 50      Page: 3   Filed: 09/23/2020
    PRESIDIO COMPONENTS, INC.   v. AVX CORPORATION            3
    patent) are directed to capacitor structures that have a
    monolithic body containing multiple individual capacitors
    with different frequencies and capacitance values. This al-
    lows the device to perform effectively across a broader
    range of frequencies.
    The ’776 patent, titled “Integrated Broadband Ceramic
    Capacitor Array,” is directed to a capacitor structure that
    contains two capacitors—a lower frequency, higher value
    first capacitor and a higher frequency, lower value second
    capacitor—contained in a substantially monolithic dielec-
    tric body. The two capacitors are connected in parallel by
    conductors that lie along two external surfaces of the die-
    lectric body. This is shown in Figure 9A, in which the first
    capacitor (60) and second capacitor (62) are connected in
    parallel by conductors (12) and (13).
    ’776 patent at Fig. 9A.
    When in use, the capacitor may be oriented so that one
    of the external surfaces with an external conductor (12 or
    13) is mounted against the flat surface of the circuit board
    and the internal conductive plates are perpendicular to the
    board. ’776 patent at 10:55–60. This is shown in Figures
    16 and 17 of the ’776 patent, in which the capacitor
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    4              PRESIDIO COMPONENTS, INC.   v. AVX CORPORATION
    structure is oriented so that external conductor (13) is at-
    tached to the circuit board.
    Id. at
    Figs. 16, 17A, 10:55–60.
    These features of the invention are recited in claim 1 of
    the ’776 patent, its only independent claim, which is repro-
    duced below:
    1. A capacitor comprising:
    a substantially monolithic dielectric body having a
    first and second external surface, the first external
    surface adapted to be positioned substantially par-
    allel to a major surface of a circuit board; and
    a lower frequency, higher value, first capacitor
    formed by a first plurality of conductive plates dis-
    posed within the dielectric body, the first plurality
    of conductive plates forming a plurality of capaci-
    tors connected in parallel with each other; and
    a higher frequency, lower value, second capacitor
    formed by a second plurality of conductive plates
    disposed within the dielectric body, the second plu-
    rality of conductive plates forming the second ca-
    pacitor,
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    PRESIDIO COMPONENTS, INC.   v. AVX CORPORATION               5
    wherein said first and second capacitors are con-
    nected in parallel by conductors lying along said
    first and second external surfaces.
    Id. at
    13:35–51.
    
         The ’829 patent is a continuation in part of the ’776 pa-
    tent and shares the same title. Two independent claims of
    the ’829 patent are at issue in this appeal, claims 9 and 32.
    Claim 9, reproduced below, is directed to a capacitor
    structure in which two “higher frequency, lower value” ca-
    pacitors are located near opposite “end[s]” of a monolithic
    dielectric body, and a third “lower frequency, higher fre-
    quency” capacitor is “intermediate” between the two ends.
    9. A capacitor comprising:
    a substantially monolithic dielectric body compris-
    ing one end, an opposite end, and first and second
    external surfaces;
    first and second contacts on the first and second ex-
    ternal surfaces, respectively;
    a higher frequency, lower value, first capacitor
    formed by first conductive plates in the dielectric
    body near the one end, the first capacitor being elec-
    trically connected between the first and second con-
    tacts;
    a higher frequency, lower value, second capacitor
    formed by second conductive plates in the dielectric
    body near the opposite end, the second capacitor be-
    ing electrically connected between the first and sec-
    ond contacts in a parallel circuit with the first
    capacitor;
    a lower frequency, higher value third capacitor
    formed by third conductive plates in the dielectric
    body intermediate the one end and the opposite end
    and between the first capacitor and the second
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    6              PRESIDIO COMPONENTS, INC.   v. AVX CORPORATION
    capacitor, the third capacitor being electrically con-
    nected between the first and second contacts in a
    parallel circuit with the first capacitor and the sec-
    ond capacitor.
    ’829 patent at 16:62–17:16 (emphasis added).
    Claim 32, reproduced below, is directed to a capacitor
    structure comprising three internal conductive plates in a
    dielectric body, where the “first and second” plates and the
    “second and third” plates are “substantially parallel and
    opposed in at least one region of said body, to form a capac-
    itor therebetween.”
    32. A monolithic capacitor comprising:
    a three-dimensional dielectric body, having first
    and second external conductive contacts;
    a first conductive plate internal to said dielectric
    body, extending within said body and conductively
    connected to said first external conductive contact;
    a second conductive plate internal to said dielectric
    body, extending within said body and conductively
    connected to said second external conductive con-
    tact, wherein said first and second conductive
    plates are substantially parallel and opposed in at
    least one region of said body, to form a capacitor
    therebetween;
    a third conductive plate internal to said dielectric
    body, extending within said body and not conduc-
    tively connected to any external conductive con-
    tacts, wherein said second and third conductive
    plates are substantially parallel and opposed in at
    least one region of said body, to form a capacitor
    therebetween;
    a first external conductive plate positioned on an
    external surface of the dielectric body and
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    PRESIDIO COMPONENTS, INC.   v. AVX CORPORATION            7
    conductively connected to the first external conduc-
    tive contact; and
    a second external conductive plate positioned on an
    external surface of the dielectric body and conduc-
    tively connected to the second external conductive
    contact, the second external conductive plate being
    substantially coplanar with the first external con-
    ductive plate.
    Id. at
    20:23–50 
    (emphasis added).
    Claim 34, which depends from claim 32, contains the
    further limitation that “the third conductive plate is sub-
    stantially coextensive with the first and second conductive
    plates.”
    Id. at
    20:60–62.
    B. Relevant Prior Art
    Japanese Patent Application Publication No. H5-
    21429, published March 19, 1993, with named inventor
    Yoichi Kuroda (“Kuroda”), is directed to multilayer capaci-
    tors with high capacitance capacitor portions and low ca-
    pacitance capacitor portions formed in a single sintered
    body. J.A. 350 (Kuroda at Abstract). 1 Kuroda teaches that
    this configuration allows the device to function effectively
    across a broader range of frequencies. J.A. 353 (Kuroda at
    ¶¶ 4–5). Figures 1, 5, and 6 of Kuroda depict various em-
    bodiments of its multilayer capacitors, with high
    1   Unless otherwise specified, citations herein to
    pages of the joint appendix refer to the appendix filed in
    Case No. 19-2181.
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    8              PRESIDIO COMPONENTS, INC.   v. AVX CORPORATION
    capacitance capacitor portions denoted with C1 and low ca-
    pacitance capacitor portions denoted with C2.
    J.A. 351–352 (Kuroda at Figs. 1, 5, 6).
    U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0195700
    A1 (“Li”) is directed to an electronic assembly that includes
    one or more capacitors connected to a housing. See J.A. 363
    Case: 19-2181    Document: 50      Page: 9    Filed: 09/23/2020
    PRESIDIO COMPONENTS, INC.   v. AVX CORPORATION             9
    (Li at Abstract). The housing can be an integrated circuit
    package that includes a printed circuit board.
    Id. Li
     teaches that a multilayer capacitor can be connected verti-
    cally to the housing, such that the surfaces on which its
    primary external electrodes are formed is oriented parallel
    to the surface of the circuit package. J.A. 377 (Li at ¶¶ 52–
    53). This arrangement is illustrated at Figure 7 of Li,
    where the multilayer capacitor (506) is vertically mounted
    to the circuit package (502).
    J.A. 367 (Li at Fig. 7). Li discloses that vertical mounting
    has certain benefits such as enabling “more capacitors to
    be embedded within or surface mounted to the package”
    and “more off-chip capacitance to be supplied to die loads
    without increasing package sizes” and providing “lower
    vertical and/or lateral inductances” and shortened voltage
    droop response times. J.A. 375-376 (Li at ¶¶ 30, 34).
    C. Inter Partes Reviews
    AVX filed two petitions for inter partes review before
    the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“the Board”), chal-
    lenging claims 1–14 of the ’776 patent and claims 9–11 and
    32–34 of the ’829 patent. The Board instituted review on
    Case: 19-2181     Document: 50    Page: 10     Filed: 09/23/2020
    10             PRESIDIO COMPONENTS, INC.   v. AVX CORPORATION
    both petitions and issued final written decisions finding
    each of the challenged claims unpatentable over the prior
    art. In IPR No. 2018-00167, the Board found claims 1–6,
    11, 13, and 14 of the ’776 patent to be anticipated by Ku-
    roda. AVX Corp. v. Presidio Components, Inc., IPR2018-
    00167, 31, 41–42 (P.T.A.B. May 14, 2019). The Board also
    found all claims of the ’776 patent to be obvious over a com-
    bination of references including Kuroda and Li.
    Id. at
    57,
    59, 60. In IPR No. 2018-00292, the Board analyzed the ’829
    patent and found claims 9–11 to be anticipated by Kuroda
    and claims 32–34 to be obvious over Kuroda in combination
    with other references. AVX Corp. v. Presidio Components,
    Inc., IPR2018-00292, 44–45, 62, 71–72 (P.T.A.B. May 15,
    2019).
    Presidio appeals both decisions. We have jurisdiction
    under 28 U.S.C. § 1295(a)(4)(A).
    DISCUSSION
    We review the Board’s factual determinations for sub-
    stantial evidence and its legal determinations de novo.
    Liqwd, Inc. v. L’Oreal USA, Inc., 
    941 F.3d 1133
    , 1136 (Fed.
    Cir. 2019). Anticipation is a question of fact that we review
    for substantial evidence. In re Hodges, 
    882 F.3d 1107
    , 1111
    (Fed. Cir. 2018). Obviousness is a legal question based on
    underlying fact findings. Koninklijke Philips N.V. v.
    Google LLC, 
    948 F.3d 1330
    , 1335 (Fed. Cir. 2020). We re-
    view the Board’s ultimate claim construction de novo and
    any subsidiary factual findings involving extrinsic evi-
    dence for substantial evidence. Bradium Techs. LLC v.
    Iancu, 
    923 F.3d 1032
    , 1042 (Fed. Cir. 2019).
    A. The ’776 Patent Claims
    As discussed, the Board found all claims of the ’776 pa-
    tent to be unpatentable as obvious and certain of the claims
    to also be anticipated. On appeal, Presidio focuses its chal-
    lenge to the Board’s determinations on one limitation of the
    challenged claims: that at least one of the two external
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    PRESIDIO COMPONENTS, INC.   v. AVX CORPORATION               11
    surfaces along which the conductors lie is “adapted to be
    positioned substantially parallel to a major surface of a cir-
    cuit board.” ’776 patent at 14:37–39. Presidio argues that
    the Board erred in declining to decide whether the term
    “adapted to be” should be construed as “designed to be” or
    merely as “capable of being” after concluding that the
    claims are invalid under either construction. Presidio con-
    tends that our precedent requires the Board to construe
    “adapted to” as meaning “made to, designed to, or config-
    ured to,” and that under that construction, the conductor-
    bearing surfaces of the devices disclosed in Kuroda are not
    “adapted” for bonding to the surface of the circuit board.
    We disagree.
    At the outset, although we have held that “adapted to”
    should be construed to mean “made to,” “designed to,” or
    “configured to” when the specification discloses structural
    features that render the claimed apparatus suitable for a
    claimed function, see In re Man Mach. Interface Techs.
    LLC, 
    822 F.3d 1282
    , 1286 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (citing In re
    Giannelli, 
    739 F.3d 1375
    , 1379 (Fed. Cir. 2014)), here, Pre-
    sidio failed to identify for the Board any structural features
    of the claimed device as described in the specification that
    make it especially suitable for vertical mounting. See J.A.
    1709, ll. 3–12 (counsel pointing vaguely to a “combination
    of” unspecified elements and “the orientation relative to
    the capacitor plates” when asked what structural features
    of the dielectric body itself render it specifically adapted for
    bonding to the circuit board). Thus, unlike in our prior
    cases, the intrinsic evidence here does not establish that
    “adapted to” means “designed to” in the context of the ’776
    patent.
    In addition, there was uncontested evidence in the rec-
    ord that the devices depicted in Kuroda possessed the
    structural features of the devices depicted in the ’776 pa-
    tent as embodying the claimed invention. See IPR2018-
    00167 at 22, 50. For example, when directly questioned on
    this point by the Board, Presidio was unable to identify any
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    12             PRESIDIO COMPONENTS, INC.   v. AVX CORPORATION
    structural differences between the device depicted in Fig-
    ure 5 of Kuroda, when rotated 90 degrees for vertical
    mounting, and 17A of the ’776 patent, which Presidio
    agreed embodies the claims. See Oral Hearing Tr. at 68, ll.
    1–18, IPR2018-00167 (P.T.A.B. Feb. 12, 2019). Based on
    this concession, the Board reasonably concluded that the
    device in Kuroda, when vertically mounted as taught in Li,
    would satisfy the requirements of the ’776 patent claims,
    regardless of how the “adapted to” limitation is construed.
    Presidio further argues that a skilled artisan would not
    have been motivated, with a reasonable expectation of suc-
    cess, to apply the teachings of Li to the devices in Kuroda
    and mount them vertically. However, the Board’s findings
    of motivation and expectation of success were supported by
    Li’s express discussion of the benefits of vertical mounting
    and its teaching that multilayer capacitors can be used in
    a vertical orientation. IPR2018-00167 at 49–50 (citing J.A.
    375–376 (Li at ¶¶ 30, 31, 34, 40)). In addition, AVX’s expert
    testified that a skilled artisan would have readily recog-
    nized that the capacitor of Kuroda could have easily been
    rotated and vertically connected to a circuit board using
    any of the well-known techniques discussed in the prior
    art.
    Id. at
    50 (citing J.A. 1562 (¶ 22)); see also J.A. 1587–
    1592 (¶¶ 60–68). Presidio contends that vertical mounting
    of the devices in Kuroda would require wire bonding, which
    had disadvantages that would have dissuaded a skilled ar-
    tisan, but the Board was entitled to rely on the teachings
    of Li itself as well as the testimony of AVX’s expert in con-
    cluding that a skilled artisan could have readily adjusted
    for the disadvantages of wire bonding and that there were
    other known techniques available for vertically mounting
    the devices in Kuroda. IPR2018-00167 at 51–52 (citing
    J.A. 375–377 (Li at ¶¶ 32, 39, 41, 53); J.A. 1574 (¶ 43)). The
    Board’s finding of motivation and reasonable expectation
    of success were thus supported by substantial evidence.
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    PRESIDIO COMPONENTS, INC.   v. AVX CORPORATION           13
    For these reasons, we affirm the Board’s determina-
    tions that all claims of the ’776 patent are unpatentable as
    obvious.
    B. The ’829 Patent Claims
    The Board found claims 9–11 of the ’829 patent antici-
    pated by Kuroda and claims 32–34 obvious over Kuroda
    and another reference. We discuss in turn Presidio’s chal-
    lenges to these conclusions.
    1. Claims 9–11
    In finding that Figure 6 of Kuroda disclosed every ele-
    ment of claims 9–11 of the ’829 patent, the Board relied on
    the following annotated figure provided by AVX in which
    the top and bottom surfaces of the device are identified as
    its two “ends.”
    IPR2018-00292 at 41. Presidio contends that the Board’s
    finding relied on an overly broad construction of the word
    “end” in claim 9. Specifically, Presidio contends that “end”
    should be construed to mean “the extreme or last part
    lengthwise of the capacitor,” rather than any “part of an
    area that lies at a boundary,” as the Board construed the
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    14             PRESIDIO COMPONENTS, INC.   v. AVX CORPORATION
    term. Presidio reasons that under its construction, Figure
    1 of Kuroda does not disclose a first and second capacitor
    located near the opposite “ends” of the device.
    We find no error in the Board’s construction. In con-
    cluding that the broadest reasonable interpretation of the
    claim term “end” was not limited to the lengthwise extrem-
    ities of a capacitor, the Board pointed to the absence of any
    language in the specification suggesting such a limitation.
    The Board also relied on the patent’s description of the top
    surface of the capacitor in Figure 14, reproduced below, as
    one of the “ends” of the device. IPR2018-00292 at 15–16
    (citing ’829 patent at 11:4–6 (“Figure 14 also illustrates an-
    other embodiment in that the ends of the chip are provided
    with an insulating coating 128.”) (second emphasis added)).
    ’829 patent at Fig. 14.
    While Presidio contends that the patent’s reference to
    the “ends of the chip” in paragraph 14 was an error, and
    that the patent should have referenced the ends of the con-
    ductive pads (121 and 123), the Board specifically consid-
    ered and declined to credit that argument when it was
    presented by Presidio’s expert because it had no support in
    the specification. IPR2018-00292 at 16–17. Presidio pro-
    vides no persuasive reason for why that credibility deter-
    mination was outside the scope of the Board’s reasonable
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    PRESIDIO COMPONENTS, INC.   v. AVX CORPORATION             15
    discretion. 2 See Yorkey v. Diab, 
    601 F.3d 1279
    , 1284 (Fed.
    Cir. 2010) (holding that the Board is “well within its dis-
    cretion” to give more or less credibility to expert testimony
    unless “no reasonable trier of fact could have done so”).
    Moreover, even if the description of Figure 14 did contain
    an error, and the patent did not expressly refer to a top
    surface as an “end,” Presidio points to nothing in the spec-
    ification to suggest that the word “end” in the context of the
    patent is used only to refer to lengthwise extremities. Con-
    trary to Presidio’s assertion, the fact that claim 9 refers to
    one end and an opposite end in the capacitor structure does
    not suggest that the device can have only two ends. And
    while one definition of “end” in Meriam Webster’s Diction-
    ary includes a “lengthwise” limitation, the first definition
    provided by the same dictionary omits the “lengthwise” re-
    quirement and simply defines end as “the part of an area
    that lies at the boundary,” which is consistent with the
    Board’s construction. J.A. 886 (Case No. 19-2182).
    2    Presidio’s primary argument on this point is that
    the Board failed to consider language in the specification
    that describes an insulating coating (132) applied between
    the “ends” (125 and 126) of the conductive pads (121 and
    123). However, that same paragraph makes clear that Fig-
    ure 14 “illustrates another alternative embodiment in that
    the ends of the chip are provided with an insulated coating
    128 to provide an electrical barrier from shorting with
    other devices” and that “the insulating coating 128 is sub-
    stantially similar to the insulating coating 132.” ’829 pa-
    tent at 11:4–11 (emphasis added). This suggests, contrary
    to Presidio’s reading, that the insulating coating (128),
    which is applied to the ends of the chip for the purpose of
    prevent shorting with other devices, is distinct from (even
    if similar to) the insulating coating (132), which is applied
    between the conductive pads to prevent conduction be-
    tween the pads.
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    16             PRESIDIO COMPONENTS, INC.   v. AVX CORPORATION
    The Board therefore properly rejected Presidio’s con-
    struction of the term “end.” Presidio does not dispute that
    Kuroda anticipates claims 9–11 under the Board’s con-
    struction. Thus, we affirm the Board’s invalidation of
    claims 9–11 of the ’829 patent.
    2. Claims 32–34
    Presidio contends that the Board erred in construing
    the word “substantially” in the phrase “substantially par-
    allel and opposed” as modifying “parallel” but not “op-
    posed.” On this basis, Presidio contends that the Board
    erred in finding that Figure 5 of Kuroda discloses a capac-
    itor in which the “second and third conductive plates are
    substantially parallel and opposed in at least one region of
    said body, to form a capacitor therebetween.”
    We agree with the Board’s construction. As explained
    in the final written decision, while the patent discusses
    plates that are “substantially parallel” or perpendicular to
    other surfaces, it never describes the plates as “substan-
    tially opposed.” IPR2018-00292 at 21. Presidio asserts
    that the phrase “substantially parallel” is never used in the
    patent to describe the relationship of the plates to each
    other, but Presidio points to no affirmative intrinsic evi-
    dence to suggest the requirement that the capacitor plates
    in the claimed invention be substantially opposed to each
    other. Rather, Presidio relies solely on “grammatical evi-
    dence” from a grammar blog for the rule that “the scope of
    a modifier tends to extend to all the words that follow it.”
    J.A. 948 (Case No. 19-2182). The Board was well within its
    discretion in declining to give weight to that evidence. See
    Velander v. Garner, 
    348 F.3d 1359
    , 1371 (Fed. Cir. 2003)
    (“It is within the discretion of the trier of fact to give each
    item of evidence such weight as it feels appropriate”).
    Presidio further contends that the objective of claim 32
    is clearly to form a capacitor between the internal plates,
    which can only be accomplished if the plates are opposing.
    Presidio provides no explanation for why the plates need to
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    PRESIDIO COMPONENTS, INC.   v. AVX CORPORATION            17
    be “substantially” opposed across the length of the plates
    rather than merely opposed “in at least one region” of the
    dielectric body to form a capacitor. To the extent Presidio
    contends that the second and third conductive plates in Ku-
    roda do not form a capacitor, the Board’s finding on this
    point was adequately supported by Presidio’s expert’s tes-
    timony, based on testing he conducted, that a charge dif-
    ference would develop between the plates so as to form a
    capacitor between them. IPR2018-00292 at 56–57 (citing
    J.A. (Case No. 19-2182) 1095–1096 (¶¶ 127–28)). Thus, in
    light of the evidence as a whole, we conclude that the
    Board’s construction was the broadest reasonable interpre-
    tation. See Alacritech, Inc. v. Intel Corp., 
    966 F.3d 1367
    ,
    1374 & n.7 (Fed. Cir. 2020) (concluding that the Board’s
    construction was the broadest reasonable interpretation
    when there was nothing in the claim language requiring a
    narrower reading and the appellant could point to no other
    support for limiting the scope of the claim).
    Presidio raises one separate argument as to claim 34
    and its requirement that “the third conductive plate is sub-
    stantially coextensive with the first and second conductive
    plates.” Presidio contends that the Board improperly in-
    ferred that the third conductive plate in Kuroda Figure 5
    is “substantially coextensive” with the other plates based
    on the “sufficient overlap” between them. According to Pre-
    sidio, the presence of overlap does not necessarily establish
    that the plates have “largely . . . the same spatial scope or
    boundaries,” as required by the Board’s construction of
    “substantially coextensive.” IPR2018-00292 at 27. We dis-
    agree. Regardless of whether an overlap between plates is
    always suggestive of their similarity in spatial scope and
    boundaries, Kuroda Figure 5 on its face and the testimony
    of AVX’s expert constitute substantial evidence to support
    the Board’s conclusion that the plates depicted in the figure
    have similar scope and boundaries.
    For these reasons, we conclude that the Board’s un-
    patentability determination as to claims 9–11 and 32–34 of
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    18             PRESIDIO COMPONENTS, INC.   v. AVX CORPORATION
    the ’829 patent did not rely on improper claim construction
    and was otherwise supported by substantial evidence.
    Thus, we affirm the Board’s decision.
    CONCLUSION
    We have considered Presidio’s remaining arguments
    and find them to be unpersuasive. For the reasons dis-
    cussed, we affirm the Board’s invalidation of claims 1–14
    of the ’776 patent and claims 9–11 and 32–34 of the ’829
    patent.
    AFFIRMED
    COSTS
    Costs to Appellee.
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 19-2181

Filed Date: 9/23/2020

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 9/23/2020