Teleflex Medical Devices S.A.R.L.

Patent Trials and Appeals Board

Jun 7, 2021

IPR2020-00138 (P.T.A.B. Jun. 7, 2021)

Trials@uspto.gov
Tel: 571-272-7822
Paper 105
Entered: June 7, 2021
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
MEDTRONIC, INC. and MEDTRONIC VASCULAR, INC.,
Petitioner,
v.
TELEFLEX INNOVATIONS S.À.R.L.,
Patent Owner.
IPR2020-00126 (Patent 8,048,032), IPR2020-00127 (Patent 8,048,032),
IPR2020-00128 (Patent RE45,380), IPR2020-00129 (Patent RE45,380),
IPR2020-00130 (Patent RE45,380), IPR2020-00132 (Patent RE45,760),
IPR2020-00134 (Patent RE45,760), IPR2020-00135 (Patent RE45,760),
IPR2020-00136 (Patent RE45,760), IPR2020-00137 (Patent RE47,379),
IPR2020-00138 (Patent RE47,379)1
Before SHERIDAN K. SNEDDEN, JON B. TORNQUIST, and
CHRISTOPHER G. PAULRAJ, Administrative Patent Judges.
PAULRAJ, Administrative Patent Judge.
1 This Order addresses issues that are the same in all identified proceedings.
We exercise our discretion to issue one Order to be filed in each proceeding.
The parties, however, are not authorized to use this style heading in
subsequent papers.
IPR2020-00126 (Patent 8,048,032), IPR2020-00127 (Patent 8,048,032),
IPR2020-00128 (Patent RE45,380), IPR2020-00129 (Patent RE45,380),
IPR2020-00130 (Patent RE45,380), IPR2020-00132 (Patent RE45,760),
IPR2020-00134 (Patent RE45,760), IPR2020-00135 (Patent RE45,760),
IPR2020-00136 (Patent RE45,760), IPR2020-00137 (Patent RE47,379),
IPR2020-00138 (Patent RE47,379)

ORDER
Granting Patent Owner’s Unopposed Motions to Seal
Granting Petitioner’s Unopposed Motions to Seal
Requiring Parties to Submit Redacted Versions of Final Written Decisions
37 C.F.R. §§ 42.14, 42.54
Introduction
Patent Owner and Petitioner filed various unopposed Motions to Seal
in the above-captioned proceedings. The Parties further submitted a
stipulated Joint Protective Order to govern the treatment of the information
and documents identified by the various Motions to Seal. Paper 10,
Appendix A.2
Under 37 C.F.R. § 42.14, the default rule is that all papers filed in
such proceedings are available to the public. Only “confidential
information” is subject to protection against public disclosure. 35 U.S.C.
§ 326(a)(7); 37 C.F.R. § 42.55. The Board also observes a strong policy in
favor of making all information filed in inter partes review proceedings
open to the public. See Argentum Pharms. LLC v. Alcon Research, Ltd.,
IPR2017-01053, Paper 27, 3–4 (PTAB Jan. 19, 2018) (informative). The
moving parties bear the burden of showing the requested relief should be
granted. 37 C.F.R. § 42.20(c). To establish “good cause” for the requested
relief, the Parties must make a sufficient showing that:
(1) the information sought to be sealed is truly confidential, (2) a
concrete harm would result upon public disclosure, (3) there

2 Unless otherwise noted, all citations are to IPR2020-00126 with the
understanding that the other proceedings include papers having substantially
the same substantive content.
IPR2020-00126 (Patent 8,048,032), IPR2020-00127 (Patent 8,048,032),
IPR2020-00128 (Patent RE45,380), IPR2020-00129 (Patent RE45,380),
IPR2020-00130 (Patent RE45,380), IPR2020-00132 (Patent RE45,760),
IPR2020-00134 (Patent RE45,760), IPR2020-00135 (Patent RE45,760),
IPR2020-00136 (Patent RE45,760), IPR2020-00137 (Patent RE47,379),
IPR2020-00138 (Patent RE47,379)

exists a genuine need to rely in the trial on the specific
information sought to be sealed, and (4), on balance, an interest
in maintaining confidentiality outweighs the strong public
interest in having an open record.

Argentum, Paper 27 at 3–4; see also Corning Optical Commc’ns RF, LLC, v.
PPC Broadband, Inc., IPR2014-00440, Paper 46 at 2 (PTAB April 6, 2015)
(requiring a showing that information has not been “excessively redacted”);
see also 37 C.F.R. § 42.54(a).
We address the Parties’ motions and showings of good cause below.

Patent Owner’s Motions to Seal
On March 9, 2020; March 10, 2020; or April 8, 2020, Patent Owner
filed unopposed Motions to Seal in IPR2020-00126, IPR2020-00128,
IPR2020-00129, IPR2020-00132, IPR2020-00134, IPR2020-00135,
IPR2020-00136, IPR2020-00137, IPR2020-00138. Paper 10. In the Motion,
Patent Owner requested sealing: the redacted portions of Patent Owner’s
Preliminary Response (Paper 8), and the entirety of Exhibits 2001–2011–
2038, 2040, 2041, 2043, 2045, 2058, and 2074. Id. at 2. On March 7, 2021,
Patent Owner removed the request to seal Exhibits 2002, 2004–2011, 2013,
2014, 2016, 2019–2035, and 2040. Paper 123.
Patent Owner contends that the “portions of the under seal version of
the Preliminary Response corresponding to the redacted portions of the
public version of the Preliminary Response contain confidential research,
development, and/or commercial information.” Paper 10, 3. Patent Owner
IPR2020-00126 (Patent 8,048,032), IPR2020-00127 (Patent 8,048,032),
IPR2020-00128 (Patent RE45,380), IPR2020-00129 (Patent RE45,380),
IPR2020-00130 (Patent RE45,380), IPR2020-00132 (Patent RE45,760),
IPR2020-00134 (Patent RE45,760), IPR2020-00135 (Patent RE45,760),
IPR2020-00136 (Patent RE45,760), IPR2020-00137 (Patent RE47,379),
IPR2020-00138 (Patent RE47,379)

contends that the remaining portions of the Preliminary Response discuss:
(1) “business development information that Medtronic considers
confidential” or (2) “revenue numbers for Patent Owner’s GuideLiner
products and market share estimates.” Id. Patent Owner contends that the
Exhibits include confidential research, development or commercial
information. See id. at 4–9.
On April 7, 2020, Patent Owner filed unopposed Motions to seal in
IPR2020-00127 and IPR2020-00130. IPR2020-00127, Paper 11; IPR2020-
00130, Paper 11. In the Motion, Patent Owner requested sealing the
redacted portions of Patent Owner’s Preliminary Response (Paper 10) and
Exhibits 2043 and 2058. Id. at 2.
Patent Owner contends that the “portions of the under seal version of
the Preliminary Response corresponding to the redacted portions of the
public version of the Preliminary Response contain confidential research,
development, and/or commercial information.” IPR2020-00127, Paper 11,
3. Patent Owner contends that the remaining portions of the Preliminary
Response discuss: (1) “business development information that Medtronic
considers confidential” or (2) “revenue numbers for Patent Owner’s
GuideLiner products and market share estimates.” Id.
On October 1, 2020 or October 2, 2020, Patent Owner filed
unopposed Motions to Seal in all of the above-captioned proceedings. Paper
42. In the Motion, Patent Owner requested sealing the redacted portions of
Patent Owner’s Response (Paper 43) and the entirety of Exhibits 2139, 2140,
2141, 2153, 2154, 2197, 2198, 2201, 2202. Id. at 2.
IPR2020-00126 (Patent 8,048,032), IPR2020-00127 (Patent 8,048,032),
IPR2020-00128 (Patent RE45,380), IPR2020-00129 (Patent RE45,380),
IPR2020-00130 (Patent RE45,380), IPR2020-00132 (Patent RE45,760),
IPR2020-00134 (Patent RE45,760), IPR2020-00135 (Patent RE45,760),
IPR2020-00136 (Patent RE45,760), IPR2020-00137 (Patent RE47,379),
IPR2020-00138 (Patent RE47,379)

Patent Owner contends that the redacted portions of Patent Owner’s
response “on pages 45, 47, 50, and 53 contain confidential Patent Owner
sales data regarding GuideLiner revenue and units sold, as well as reflect
licensing strategy. The remaining redacted portions reflect information that
Petitioner Medtronic has designated as confidential under” the protective
order in the co-pending district court proceeding. Id. at 3. Patent Owner
contends that the Exhibits include “confidential research, development, or
commercial information.” Id. at 4.
On November 24, 2020, Patent Owner filed unopposed Motions to
Seal in all of the above-captioned proceedings. Paper 71. In the Motion,
Patent Owner requested sealing Exhibit 2221. Id. at 2.
On February 1, 2021, Patent Owner filed unopposed Motions to Seal
in all of the above-captioned proceedings. Paper 88. In the Motion, Patent
Owner requested sealing portions of Patent Owner’s Sur-Reply on
Conception and Reduction to Practice (“CRTP”) (Paper 103), the redacted
portions of Exhibit 2242, and the entirety of Exhibit 2235. Id. at 2. Patent
Owner contends that the Exhibit contains “confidential information
concerning Patent Owner’s business, pricing, and marketing strategy” and
has been previously designated as confidential in the co-pending district
court proceeding. Id. at 3.
On March 4, 2021, Patent Owner filed unopposed Motions to Seal in
all of the above-captioned proceedings. Paper 119. In the Motion, Patent
Owner requested sealing portions of Patent Owner’s Demonstratives,
namely slides 256, 262, 263, 274, and 276–278. Id. at 2. In the Motion,
IPR2020-00126 (Patent 8,048,032), IPR2020-00127 (Patent 8,048,032),
IPR2020-00128 (Patent RE45,380), IPR2020-00129 (Patent RE45,380),
IPR2020-00130 (Patent RE45,380), IPR2020-00132 (Patent RE45,760),
IPR2020-00134 (Patent RE45,760), IPR2020-00135 (Patent RE45,760),
IPR2020-00136 (Patent RE45,760), IPR2020-00137 (Patent RE47,379),
IPR2020-00138 (Patent RE47,379)

Patent Owner contends that “redacted slides 256, 274, and 276–78 contain
information that Petitioner has contended is confidential research,
development, and testing information related to its products, regulatory
communications, and marketing.” Id. at 3. Patent Owner contends that
“redacted slides 262–63 contain information that Patent Owner has
contended contain confidential commercial information relating to revenue
and units sold.” Id.

Petitioner’s Motions to Seal
On December 17, 2020, Petitioner filed unopposed Motions to Seal in
IPR2020-00126, IPR2020-00128, IPR2020-00129, IPR2020-00132,
IPR2020-00134, IPR2020-00135, and IPR2020-00137. Paper 80. In the
Motion, Petitioner requested sealing portions of Petitioner’s Reply
addressing CRTP (Paper 78), portions of Exhibit 1755, and the entirety of
Exhibits 1108, 1308, 1708, 1114, 1314, 1714, 1758, 1759, 1760, 1761, 1763,
1765, 1767, 1768, 1769, 1770, 1774, 1775, 1778, 1779, 1782, 1783, 1786,
1787, 1788, 1789, 1790, 1791, 1792, and 1793. Id. at 1.
In the Motion, Petitioner contends that the redacted portions of Paper
78 “discuss Patent Owner’s confidential information, specifically,
information related to Patent Owner’s product development, product design,
marketing, and related efforts and strategies.” Id. at 2–3. Petitioner
contends that Ex. 1755 also discusses Patent Owner’s confidential
information related to the similar material. Petitioner contends that the
remaining referenced Exhibits “describe Patent Owner’s product
IPR2020-00126 (Patent 8,048,032), IPR2020-00127 (Patent 8,048,032),
IPR2020-00128 (Patent RE45,380), IPR2020-00129 (Patent RE45,380),
IPR2020-00130 (Patent RE45,380), IPR2020-00132 (Patent RE45,760),
IPR2020-00134 (Patent RE45,760), IPR2020-00135 (Patent RE45,760),
IPR2020-00136 (Patent RE45,760), IPR2020-00137 (Patent RE47,379),
IPR2020-00138 (Patent RE47,379)

development, product design, marketing, and related efforts and strategies.”
Id. at 4. Petitioner notes that the redacted portions of Petitioner’s CRTP
Reply and Ex. 1755, as well as the entirety of the remaining Exhibits, were
produced and designated confidential under the protective order in the co-
pending district court litigation. Id. at 2–4.
On December 22, 2020 or December 23, 2020, Petitioner filed
unopposed Motions to Seal in IPR2020-00126, IPR2020-00127, IPR2020-
00128, IPR2020-00129, IPR2020-00130, IPR2020-00132, IPR2020-00134,
IPR2020-00136, IPR2020-00137, and IPR202-00138. Paper 84. In the
Motion, Petitioner requested sealing portions of Petitioner’s Reply to Patent
Owner’s Response (Paper 83), and portions of Exhibits 1806, 1807, and
1830, and the entirety of Exhibits 1114, 1115, and 1821–1823. Id. at 1.
In the Motion, Petitioner contends that the redacted portions of Paper
82 “discuss Patent Owner’s confidential information, specifically,
information related to Patent Owner’s product development, product design,
marketing, and related efforts and strategies.” Id. at 2. Petitioner contends
that the redacted portions of Exhibits 1806, 1807, and 1830 discuss “Patent
Owner’s confidential information, specifically, information related to Patent
Owner’s product development, product design, marketing, and related
efforts and strategies, as well as deposition testimony regarding the same.”
Id. at 3. Petitioner contends that Exhibits 1114, 1115, and 1821–1823,
“describe Patent Owner’s product development, product design, marketing,
and related efforts and strategies.” Id. at 3–4. Petitioner notes that the
redacted portions of Petitioner’s Reply to Patent Owner’s Response and
IPR2020-00126 (Patent 8,048,032), IPR2020-00127 (Patent 8,048,032),
IPR2020-00128 (Patent RE45,380), IPR2020-00129 (Patent RE45,380),
IPR2020-00130 (Patent RE45,380), IPR2020-00132 (Patent RE45,760),
IPR2020-00134 (Patent RE45,760), IPR2020-00135 (Patent RE45,760),
IPR2020-00136 (Patent RE45,760), IPR2020-00137 (Patent RE47,379),
IPR2020-00138 (Patent RE47,379)

Exhibits 1806, 1807, and 1830, as well as the entirety of the remaining
Exhibits, were produced and designated confidential under the protective
order in the co-pending district court litigation. Id. at 2–4
On March 4, 2021, Petitioner filed unopposed Motions to Seal in all
of the above-captioned proceedings. Paper 118. Petitioner requested sealing
portions of Petitioner’s Demonstratives, namely slides 259, 269, and 270.
Id. at 1–2. In the Motion, Petitioner contends that redacted slides 259, 269,
and 270 “discuss Patent Owner’s confidential information, specifically,
information related to Patent Owner’s product development, product design,
marketing, and related efforts and strategies.” Id. at 2. Petitioner notes that
this information was designated as confidential under a protective order in
the co-pending district court proceeding. Id.

Analysis
Upon considering the Parties representations and arguments, the
contents of the exhibits sought to be sealed in their entirety, and the contents
of the information sought to be redacted, we conclude that the Parties have
established good cause for sealing the requested documents.
On June 7, 2021, we issued our Final Written Decisions in these
proceedings. Because these Decisions cite to one or more of the foregoing
documents that have been sealed, we designated the Decisions as “Board
and Parties Only.” The parties are directed to review our Decisions to verify
if any confidential information is mentioned, meet and confer in good faith,
and submit joint proposed redacted versions of the Decisions within five
IPR2020-00126 (Patent 8,048,032), IPR2020-00127 (Patent 8,048,032),
IPR2020-00128 (Patent RE45,380), IPR2020-00129 (Patent RE45,380),
IPR2020-00130 (Patent RE45,380), IPR2020-00132 (Patent RE45,760),
IPR2020-00134 (Patent RE45,760), IPR2020-00135 (Patent RE45,760),
IPR2020-00136 (Patent RE45,760), IPR2020-00137 (Patent RE47,379),
IPR2020-00138 (Patent RE47,379)

business days after entry of this Order. The proposed redacted versions
shall be emailed to Trials@uspto.gov.

ORDER
In consideration of the foregoing, it is hereby:
ORDERED that the parties’ joint motion to enter the Proposed
Protective Order (Paper 10, Appendix A) is granted, and the Proposed
Protective Order is, accordingly, entered;
FURTHER ORDERED that Patent Owner’s requests to seal Exhibits
2001, 2003, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2036–2038, 2041, 2058, 2074, 2139–2141,
2153, 2154, 2197, 2198, 2201, 2202, 2221, and 2235, are granted;
FURTHER ORDERED that Patent Owner’s requests to seal redacted
portions of Patent Owner’s Preliminary Response, Patent Owner’s
Response, Patent Owner’s Sur-Reply on CRTP, Exhibits 2043, 2045, and
2242, and Patent Owner’s Demonstratives are granted;
FURTHER ORDERED that Petitioner’s requests to seal Exhibits
1108, 1114, 1115, 1308, 1314, 1708, 1714, 1758, 1759, 1760, 1761, 1763,
1765, 1767–1770, 1774, 1775, 1778, 1779, 1782, 1783, 1786, 1787–1793,
and 181–1823 are granted;
FURTHER ORDERED that Petitioner’s requests to seal redacted
portions of Exhibits 1755, 1806, 1807, and 1830, Petitioner’s Reply
addressing CRTP, Petitioner’s Reply to Patent Owner’s Response, and
Petitioner’s Demonstratives are granted; and
IPR2020-00126 (Patent 8,048,032), IPR2020-00127 (Patent 8,048,032),
IPR2020-00128 (Patent RE45,380), IPR2020-00129 (Patent RE45,380),
IPR2020-00130 (Patent RE45,380), IPR2020-00132 (Patent RE45,760),
IPR2020-00134 (Patent RE45,760), IPR2020-00135 (Patent RE45,760),
IPR2020-00136 (Patent RE45,760), IPR2020-00137 (Patent RE47,379),
IPR2020-00138 (Patent RE47,379)

FURTHER ORDERED that the parties shall meet and confer and
propose joint redacted versions of our Final Written Decisions in these
proceedings within five business days.

IPR2020-00126 (Patent 8,048,032), IPR2020-00127 (Patent 8,048,032),
IPR2020-00128 (Patent RE45,380), IPR2020-00129 (Patent RE45,380),
IPR2020-00130 (Patent RE45,380), IPR2020-00132 (Patent RE45,760),
IPR2020-00134 (Patent RE45,760), IPR2020-00135 (Patent RE45,760),
IPR2020-00136 (Patent RE45,760), IPR2020-00137 (Patent RE47,379),
IPR2020-00138 (Patent RE47,379)

FOR PETITIONER:

Cyrus Morton
Sharon Roberg-Perez
Christopher Pinahs
William E. Manske
Emily J. Tremblay
ROBINS KAPLAN LLP
cmorton@robinskaplan.com
sroberg-perez@robinskaplan.com
cpinahs@robinskaplan.com
wmanske@robinskaplan.com
etremblay@robinskaplan.com

FOR PATENT OWNER:

Derek Vandenburgh
Dennis Bremer
CARLSON, CASPERS, VANDENBURGH & LINDQUIST, P.A.
dvandenburgh@carlsoncaspers.com
dbremer@carlsoncaspers.com