Case: 20-1852 Document: 99 Page: 1 Filed: 10/12/2021
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ______________________
TRAXCELL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC, Plaintiff-Appellant
v.
SPRINT COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY LP, SPRINT SPECTRUM, LP, SPRINT SOLUTIONS, INC., VERIZON WIRELESS PERSONAL COMMUNICATIONS, LP, Defendants-Appellees
TELENAV, INC., T-MOBILE USA, INC., Defendants ______________________
2020-1852, 2020-1854 ______________________
Appeals from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in No. 2:17-cv-00718-RWS-RSP, Judge Robert Schroeder, III. ______________________
Decided: October 12, 2021 ______________________
WILLIAM PETERSON RAMEY, III, Ramey & Schwaller, LLP, Houston, TX, argued for plaintiff-appellant. Also rep- resented by JOHN PIERRE LAHAD, Susman Godfrey LLP, Houston, TX.
BRIAN DAVID SCHMALZBACH, McGuireWoods LLP, Case: 20-1852 Document: 99 Page: 2 Filed: 10/12/2021
Richmond, VA, argued for defendants-appellees Sprint Communications Company LP, Sprint Spectrum, LP, Sprint Solutions, Inc. Also represented by DAVID EVAN FINKELSON; TYLER VANHOUTAN, Houston, TX.
JOSHUA C. KRUMHOLZ, Holland & Knight, LLP, Boston, MA, argued for defendant-appellee Verizon Wireless Per- sonal Communications, LP. Also represented by JACOB KEVIN BARON; KEVIN PAUL ANDERSON, Duane Morris LLP, Washington, DC. ______________________
Before PROST, O’MALLEY, and STOLL, Circuit Judges. PROST, Circuit Judge. Traxcell 1 sued Sprint 2 and Verizon 3 for infringement of four patents related to self-optimizing wireless networks and to navigation technology. After claim construction and discovery, the district court granted summary judgment for Sprint and Verizon. Traxcell appeals. For the reasons be- low, we agree with the district court’s claim construction. We also agree that under that construction, Traxcell failed to show a genuine issue of material fact as to infringement and that several of Traxcell’s claims are indefinite. We therefore affirm. BACKGROUND I This case involves four patents in the same family: U.S. Patent Nos. 8,977,284 (“the ’284 patent”), 9,510,320 (“the ’320 patent”), 9,642,024 (“the ’024 patent”), and 9,549,388
1 Traxcell Technologies, LLC. 2 Sprint Communications Company LP; Sprint Spec- trum, LP; and Sprint Solutions, Inc. 3 Verizon Wireless Personal Communications, LP. Case: 20-1852 Document: 99 Page: 3 Filed: 10/12/2021
TRAXCELL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC v. 3 SPRINT COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY
(“the ’388 patent”). All share a specification and a 2001 priority date. A The claims of three of the patents—the ’284, ’320, and ’024 patents—are related to self-optimizing network (“SON”) technology for making “corrective actions” to im- prove communications between a wireless device (for in- stance, a phone) and a network. The parties call these the “SON patents.” Claim 1 of the ’024 patent is representative (relevant limitations emphasized): 1. A system including: one or more radio-frequency transceivers and an associated one or more antennas to which the ra- dio-frequency transceiver is coupled, wherein the one or more radio-frequency transceivers config- ured for radio-frequency communication with at least one mobile wireless communications device; and a computer coupled to the one or more radio-fre- quency transceivers programmed to locate the one or more mobile wireless communications devices and generate an indication of a location of the one or more mobile wireless communications devices, wherein the computer further receives and stores performance data of connections between the one or more mobile wireless communications devices and the radio-frequency transceiver along with the indication of location, wherein the computer refer- ences the performance data to expected perfor- mance data, wherein the computer determines at least one suggested corrective action in conformity with differences between the performance data and expected performance data in conjunction with the indication of location, wherein the computer fur- ther receives an error code from the radio- Case: 20-1852 Document: 99 Page: 4 Filed: 10/12/2021
frequency transceiver, determines whether the er- ror code indicates a performance issue with respect to the connection between the one or more mobile wireless communications devices and the radio-fre- quency transceiver, and wherein the computer de- termines the at least one suggested corrective action in response to the error code. Claim 1 of the ’284 patent is similar but also includes a means-plus-function limitation that was disputed in this case (further emphasized): 1. A wireless network comprising: a) at least two wireless devices, each said wireless device communicating via radio frequency signals; b) a first computer programmed to perform the steps of: 1) locating at least one said wireless device on said wireless network and referencing performance of said at least one wireless device with wireless network known pa- rameters, 2) routinely storing performance data and a corresponding location for said at least one wireless device in a memory; c) a radio tower adapted to receive radio frequency signals from, and transmit radio frequency signals to said at least one wireless device; wherein said first computer further includes means for receiving said performance data and suggest corrective ac- tions obtained from a list of possible causes for said radio tower based upon the performance data and the corresponding location associated with said at least one wireless device; Case: 20-1852 Document: 99 Page: 5 Filed: 10/12/2021
TRAXCELL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC v. 5 SPRINT COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY
d) wherein said radio tower generates an error code based upon operation of said at least one wireless device; and e) wherein said first computer is further pro- grammed to, 1) receive said error code from said radio tower, and, 2) selectively suggest a corrective action of said radio frequency signals of said radio tower in order to restrict processing of ra- dio frequency signals from at least one of said at least two wireless devices based upon said error code, and, whereby said first computer suggests said corrective ac- tion in order to improve communication with at least one said wireless device. B Unlike the SON patents, the claims of the ’388 patent are directed to network-based navigation—namely, having the network, rather than a wireless device itself, determine the device’s location. The parties call the ’388 patent the “navigation patent.” Claim 1 is representative: 1. A wireless communications system including: a first radio-frequency transceiver within a wire- less mobile communications device and an associ- ated first antenna to which the first radio- frequency transceiver is coupled, wherein the first radio-frequency transceiver is configured for radio- frequency communication with a wireless commu- nications network; a first processor within the wireless mobile commu- nications device coupled to the at least one first ra- dio-frequency transceiver programmed to receive a location of the wireless mobile communications Case: 20-1852 Document: 99 Page: 6 Filed: 10/12/2021
device from the wireless communications network and generate an indication of a location of the wire- less mobile communications device with respect to geographic features according to mapping infor- mation stored within the wireless mobile commu- nications device, and wherein the processor displays to the user navigation information accord- ing to the location of the wireless mobile communi- cations device with respect to the geographic features and a destination specified by the user at the wireless mobile communications device; at least one second radio-frequency transceiver and an associated at least one second antenna of the wireless communications network to which the sec- ond radio-frequency transceiver is coupled; and a second processor coupled to the at least one sec- ond radio-frequency transceiver programmed to de- termine the location of the wireless mobile communications device, wherein the second proces- sor selectively determines the location of the wire- less mobile communications device dependent on the setting of preference flags, wherein the second processor determines the location of the wireless mobile communications device if the preference flags are set to a state that permits tracking of the user of the wireless mobile communications device and communicates the location of the wireless mo- bile communications device to the first processor via the second radio-frequency transmitter, and wherein the second processor does not determine and communicate the location of the wireless mo- bile communications device if the preference flags are set to a state that prohibits tracking of the wire- less mobile communications device. Case: 20-1852 Document: 99 Page: 7 Filed: 10/12/2021
TRAXCELL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC v. 7 SPRINT COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY
II Traxcell asserted against Verizon the ’284, ’024, and ’388 patents. 4 For the ’284 and ’024 SON patents, Trax- cell’s allegations involve Verizon’s implementation of Er- icsson’s self-organizing network technology—the so-called Ericsson C-SON. And for the ’388 patent, Traxcell points to Verizon mobile devices using VZ Navigator or Google Maps (made by Comtech and Google, respectively). Traxcell also asserted these same patents, plus the ’320 patent, against Sprint. 5 For the asserted SON claims of the ’284, ’024, and ’320 patents, Traxcell’s infringement allegations involve Sprint’s use of Samsung’s distributed self-optimizing network technology—the so-called Sam- sung dSON. And for the ’388 patent, Traxcell’s infringe- ment allegations concern Sprint mobile devices loaded with Google Maps. III The magistrate judge entered a claim-construction or- der on April 15, 2019, under which claims 1–11 of the ’284 patent were indefinite. After claim construction, Sprint and Verizon separately moved for summary judg- ment of noninfringement on the remaining claims.
4 Traxcell appeals determinations related to claims 1–10 of the ’284 patent; claims 1, 6–11, and 17–22 of the ’024 patent; and claims 1–11 and 21 of the ’388 pa- tent. 5 Traxcell appeals determinations related to claims 1–12 of the ’284 patent; claims 1, 6–11, and 17–22 of the ’024 patent; claims 1–6 of the ’320 patent; and claims 1–11 and 21 of the ’388 patent. Case: 20-1852 Document: 99 Page: 8 Filed: 10/12/2021
Adopting the magistrate judge’s recommendations, the dis- trict court granted both motions. 6 Traxcell appeals. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1295(a)(1). DISCUSSION The district court granted summary judgment for de- fendants Sprint and Verizon in light of its construction of several claim terms. Traxcell appeals both the claim con- structions and the noninfringement determinations that flow from them. “We review claim construction based on intrinsic evi- dence de novo and review any findings of fact regarding ex- trinsic evidence for clear error.” SpeedTrack, Inc. v. Amazon.com, 998 F.3d 1373, 1378 (Fed. Cir. 2021). And we review the district court’s summary judgment de novo under the law of the regional circuit—here the Fifth Cir- cuit. Ericsson Inc. v. TCL Commc’n Tech. Holdings Ltd., 955 F.3d 1317, 1324–25 (Fed. Cir. 2020). Summary judg- ment is proper “if the movant shows that there is no genu- ine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). We “view[] all evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party and draw[] all reasonable infer- ences in that party’s favor.” Kariuki v. Tarango, 709 F.3d 495, 501 (5th Cir. 2013) (quoting Pierce v. Dep’t of the Air Force, 512 F.3d 184, 185 (5th Cir. 2007)). But “the non- movant can’t defeat summary judgment with conclusory al- legations, unsupported assertions, or only a scintilla of
6 For simplicity, and because the district judge adopted the magistrate judge’s orders and recommenda- tions as the opinion of the court, we refer to “the district court” in discussing the underlying determinations, whether first made by the magistrate judge or the district judge. Case: 20-1852 Document: 99 Page: 9 Filed: 10/12/2021
TRAXCELL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC v. 9 SPRINT COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY
evidence.” Batiste v. Lewis, 976 F.3d 493, 500 (5th Cir. 2020). Summary judgment was based on several grounds. First, claim 12 of the ’284 patent was not infringed because Traxcell hadn’t met the “way” prong of the function-way- result test in asserting an infringing structural equivalent to a means-plus-function limitation. Second, Traxcell hadn’t shown a genuine dispute about either the “location” limitation (present in every asserted SON patent claim) or the “first computer” and “computer” limitations (present in most asserted SON patent claims). As to claim 1 of the ’284 patent, the district court held it indefinite for failure to disclose sufficient structure for a means-plus-function limitation. And as to the ’388 patent, Traxcell couldn’t show that the accused technology determined a wireless device’s location on the network itself, as claimed, rather than on the device. Traxcell appeals this all. We address each issue in turn. I As to claim 12 of the ’284 patent, the district court granted summary judgment of noninfringement because there was no genuine dispute that Sprint’s accused system did not meet that claim’s means-plus-function limitation. 7 That is, Traxcell asserted an infringing structural equiva- lent but fell short under the “way” prong of the function- way-result test. We agree with the district court. A First, we address claim construction. The parties agreed that claim 12 includes a means-plus-function limi- tation: a “means for receiving said performance data and corresponding locations from said radio tower and correct- ing radio frequency signals of said radio tower.” J.A. 37.
7 Traxcell did not assert claim 12 against Verizon. Case: 20-1852 Document: 99 Page: 10 Filed: 10/12/2021
The corresponding function is “receiving said performance data and corresponding locations from said radio tower and correcting radio frequency signals of said radio tower.” J.A. 37. And the corresponding structure is an algorithm that Traxcell identified from the specification. J.A. 37 (cit- ing ’284 patent Figs. 38-A, 38-B, 38-C; id. at col. 54 l. 21– col. 55 l. 41). This construction is undisputed on appeal. B Next, we address infringement. Traxcell argues that Sprint’s accused technology includes a structural equiva- lent to the disclosed structure under the function-way-re- sult test. The district court disagreed, reasoning that Traxcell failed to establish that the accused technology op- erates in substantially the same “way.” Under the function-way-result test, “[l]iteral infringe- ment of a means-plus-function claim limitation requires that the relevant structure in the accused device perform the identical function recited in the claim and be identical or equivalent to the corresponding structure in the specifi- cation.” Applied Med. Res. Corp. v. U.S. Surgical Corp., 448 F.3d 1324, 1333 (Fed. Cir. 2006). “Once the relevant structure in the accused device has been identified, a party may prove it is equivalent to the disclosed structure by showing that the two perform the identical function in sub- stantially the same way, with substantially the same re- sult.” Id. The district court held that Traxcell had not offered sufficient evidence that Sprint’s system contained the structure required for the means-plus-function element. J.A. 109, 119–23. As it observed, the identified structure from the specification is a “very detailed” algorithm. J.A. 120. That algorithm includes numerous steps neces- sary for its function. J.A. 122. But Traxcell neglected to address a significant fraction of that structure. Indeed, Traxcell’s infringement expert instead discussed the ac- cused technology at only a generalized level and didn’t at Case: 20-1852 Document: 99 Page: 11 Filed: 10/12/2021
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all discuss at least nine entire steps of the algorithm—fo- cusing on function and results but eliding the way those results are achieved. J.A. 121–22. Accordingly, Traxcell didn’t provide enough evidence for a reasonable jury to con- clude that the accused structure performs the claimed function in “substantially the same way” as the disclosed structure. See Kemco Sales, Inc. v. Control Papers Co., Inc., 208 F.3d 1352, 1364–65 (Fed. Cir. 2000) (affirming sum- mary judgment of noninfringement, both literally and un- der doctrine of equivalents, where “way” and “result” were not substantially the same as claimed means-plus-function structure). We agree with the district court’s thorough analysis. Showing identical function is not enough for literal in- fringement of a means-plus-function claim—Traxcell must also provide evidence of identical or equivalent structure. Here it did not, and so summary judgment was proper. II We move next to the “location” limitation. All asserted claims of the ’284 and ’320 patents include the term “loca- tion.” The parties stipulated that the term meant a “loca- tion that is not merely a position in a grid pattern.” The court granted summary judgment of noninfringement un- der that construction to Sprint and Verizon. For the rea- sons below, we agree. A First, we address claim construction. In the related Nokia case, the construction of “location” in these claims was disputed at the district court. See Traxcell Techs., LLC v. Nokia Sols. & Networks Oy, No. 20-1440, slip op. at 6–7 (Fed. Cir. Oct. 12, 2021) (“Nokia”). Not so here. Instead, the parties agreed that “location” means “location that is not merely a position in a grid pattern.” J.A. 12–13, 68, 101. The district court accepted that construction; the Case: 20-1852 Document: 99 Page: 12 Filed: 10/12/2021
parties proceeded through discovery and briefing accord- ingly. And under that construction, Traxcell lost. Now Traxcell insists in retrospect that this construc- tion was wrong. But having stipulated to it, Traxcell can- not pull an about-face. Traxcell suggests that it preserved the issue because it contested the term in the related Nokia case and claim construction “should be applied consistently between related cases.” Reply Br. 15 (capitalization nor- malized). We are unconvinced. At any rate, for the reasons we explained in the Nokia appeal, the stipulated-to con- struction is correct. See Nokia, slip op. at 6–7. B Next, we address infringement. The independent claims of the SON patents all require sending, receiving, generating, storing, or using the “location” of a wireless de- vice. The district court concluded that Traxcell hadn’t shown that the accused technologies use a “location” as construed by the court, such that summary judgment was proper. See J.A. 117–19, 173–74, 176 (Sprint), 73–77, 163–64, 165 (Verizon). For the reasons below, we agree. 1 The district court found that Traxcell had failed to cre- ate a genuine issue about whether Sprint’s accused tech- nology (i.e., the Sprint LTE Service Manager, or “LSM”) sends, receives, generates, stores, or uses “location” as con- strued. First, Traxcell had argued that the LSM used location in the form of a device’s cell or sector to make adjustments. But the district court concluded that using information about a device’s “cell or sector” amounted to using merely a position in a grid pattern. See J.A. 173–74; see also J.A. 117. We agree. Traxcell also insisted that the LSM generates a device’s location through an alphabet soup of approaches, including Case: 20-1852 Document: 99 Page: 13 Filed: 10/12/2021
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“(1) receiving and collecting UE-referenced network and device performance measurements from the Minimization of Drive Tests (‘MDT’) Reports and UE Measurement Re- ports[,] (2) Observed Time Distance of Arrival (‘OTDOA’), (3) call trace analysis, (4) the GUI in the NV 4.0 Release, (5) the collection of Cell ID, (6) throughput, and through (7) Received Signal Strength Indication (‘RSSI’), Received Signal Received Power (‘RSRP’), dropped calls, and the like.” J.A. 118. The district court concluded, and we agree, that Traxcell’s arguments on this front amounted to “con- clusory statement[s] . . . without any analysis to support” them. E.g., J.A. 118. That is, Traxcell didn’t explain how any of these approaches match up to the court’s claim con- struction, how the approaches are actually used in the ac- cused technology, and how the approaches would meet other limitations of the claims. See Novartis Corp. v. Ben Venue Labs., Inc., 271 F.3d 1043, 1054 (Fed. Cir. 2001) (af- firming summary judgment of noninfringement because patentee did not meet “obligation to set forth the detailed basis of its evidence such that the district court could eval- uate whether it could support a finding of infringement”) (citing Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586 (1986)). The same is true of Traxcell on appeal. Traxcell’s unexplained listing of accused elements that purportedly send, receive, generate, store, or use a wireless device’s location is insufficient to create a genuine issue of material fact. 2 The district court also found that Traxcell had failed to create a genuine issue of material fact about whether Ver- izon’s accused technology (i.e., the Ericsson C-SON) uses “location” as construed. First, the court rejected Traxcell’s argument that the accused technology uses “location” because it collects “in- formation regarding the distance of devices from a base sta- tion.” That is, according to Verizon’s unrebutted evidence, Case: 20-1852 Document: 99 Page: 14 Filed: 10/12/2021
the Ericsson C-SON “doesn’t get location data,” but rather simply gets information “to calculate distance” to base sta- tions. E.g., J.A. 5572; see also J.A. 5560–61, 5571, 5577. And location and distance from a point are different, the court concluded. J.A. 73–74, 163–64. We agree. Second, the court rejected Traxcell’s arguments that the accused technology determines which sector or cell a device falls within, thereby constituting a “location.” The court found that the evidence only shows that the accused technology determines a device’s position within a grid. J.A. 164. And Verizon’s unrebutted evidence confirms this—as the district court explained, the accused technol- ogy “does not provide a specific location for any individual device, but only places the device into a pre-defined area and then makes decisions based on the area that the device falls into.” J.A. 76. This was consistent with Traxcell’s ex- pert’s statements, which likened the sector-and-cell “bins” to a grid. See J.A. 5537. 8 Again, we agree with the district court. See Profectus Tech. LLC v. Huawei Techs. Co., 823 F.3d 1375, 1382–83 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (affirming sum- mary judgment of noninfringement in light of unrebutted evidence). Sectors and cells, as the parties use them, are “merely a position within a grid pattern.” See J.A. 73–75. And even if a “sector” (i.e., an angle-plus-distance subset of a cell) were more than a grid-pattern position, the district court observed that there is no evidence that the Ericsson C-SON actually uses sector data in this way. See J.A. 76.
8 Traxcell points to other contrary statements by the same expert, but, as Verizon points out, that evidence seems to be from another case entirely (one not even involv- ing the Ericsson C-SON). See Appellant’s Br. 60 & nn.242– 43; Verizon Br. 21–22. We agree with Verizon that it is puzzling how it could be error for the district court not to account for this evidence. Case: 20-1852 Document: 99 Page: 15 Filed: 10/12/2021
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Beyond all this, the court also rejected Traxcell’s reci- tation of a “long list of various types of data that the ac- cused products allegedly use without explaining how using that . . . data would satisfy the claim construction.” J.A. 164. That is, Traxcell didn’t link its citations to the claims and left its evidence unexplained. Traxcell has done the same on appeal—insisting in a conclusory fashion that the district court overlooked various pieces of evidence but not explaining the role of that evidence in its infringement theory as to the Ericsson C-SON. Again, that is not enough to meet Traxcell’s burden. We agree with the district court. Traxcell did not cre- ate a genuine dispute of material fact that Verizon’s ac- cused technology uses “location.” III Next we move to the “first computer” and “computer” limitations, which are in all the asserted claims of the SON patents except claim 6 of the ’024 patent and those depend- ing from it. These terms are paired throughout with vari- ous functions. Construing those terms to require that a single computer be capable of performing the recited func- tions, the district court concluded that Traxcell hadn’t shown that the accused technology met those limitations, and that summary judgment for the defendants was proper. For the reasons below, we agree. A First, we address claim construction. In short, we agree with the district court. This construction was also at issue in the parallel Nokia case. See Nokia, slip op. at 10– 13. And as we explained in that case, a “first computer” or a “computer” means a single computer. Id. So too here. B Next, we turn to infringement. As explained above, the “first computer” and “computer” terms are paired with Case: 20-1852 Document: 99 Page: 16 Filed: 10/12/2021
various functions. For example, claim 1 of the ’024 patent requires that “a computer” not only be “programmed to lo- cate” one or more mobile devices but also to “further re- ceive[] and store[] performance data,” to “reference[] the performance data,” to “further receive[] an error code,” and to “determine[]” “at least one suggested corrective action in response to the error code.” For both Sprint and Verizon, the district court deter- mined that Traxcell hadn’t shown a genuine issue of mate- rial fact that these limitations were met. For the reasons below, we agree. 1 As to Sprint, the court concluded that Traxcell had failed to show a genuine dispute of material fact that the accused technology uses a single computer capable of meet- ing each of the claim limitations. J.A. 110–14. The accused Samsung dSON system operates with Sprint’s wireless network across Sprint’s LSM, Operating Support Systems (“OSSs”), and various base stations (or “eNodeBs”). The LSM configures and manages network el- ements—such as the eNodeBs—and works with other sys- tems like the OSS to manage network functionality. The OSSs are operating systems that interact with the eNodeBs and work with both the LSM and the eNodeB to execute the SON functionality. The Samsung dSON is “distributed”: that is, its functions are spread among many computers in the LSM, OSSs, and eNodeBs. Traxcell didn’t generally dispute those facts. Instead, Traxcell argued broadly that the LSM server and every computer at an eNodeB each also constitutes a single com- puter that would be able to meet all the limitations of the claims. See J.A. 110. But Traxcell didn’t particularize those conclusory assertions with specific evidence and ar- guments. The district court concluded that Traxcell had failed to show how either the LSM or the computer at the Case: 20-1852 Document: 99 Page: 17 Filed: 10/12/2021
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eNodeB could independently perform each of the claimed functions. J.A. 110–11. To the contrary, the only reasona- ble conclusion from the evidence was that the LSM and eNodeBs must work together to conduct most operations, requiring multiple computers. J.A. 110–11. Traxcell argues that it “presented substantial evidence that the LSM was capable of performing the required func- tions.” See Appellant’s Br. 48. On appeal, it reproduces four pages from its district-court briefing that it says weren’t addressed on this point. See Appellant’s Br. 48 (quoting J.A. 8313–16); see also Reply Br. 18–21. To be sure, those pages include an army of citation footnotes crouching in a field of jargon. What they lack is explana- tion. As an initial matter, we disagree that the district court ignored this evidence. To the contrary, the district court spent five pages discussing Traxcell’s evidence. See J.A. 110–14. And Traxcell’s showing is simply too unex- plained and too conclusory to meet the summary-judgment standard. 2 As to Verizon, the district court again concluded that Traxcell had failed to show a genuine dispute of material fact about the “first computer” or “computer” limitation. J.A. 71–72, 162–63. The accused Ericsson C-SON system is, like the Sam- sung dSON, distributed across many computers. Traxcell doesn’t dispute this fundamental point. Instead, it points to a part of the system—the so-called SON Portal—and ar- gues that it is a single computer that satisfies the limita- tions. See Appellant’s Br. 55–56. But the SON Portal is only an interface. It doesn’t per- form all the functions itself—rather, it collects their output from other computers for the convenience of the user. Ver- izon provided unrebutted evidence that the accused func- tionalities were carried out by other computers within the Case: 20-1852 Document: 99 Page: 18 Filed: 10/12/2021
Ericsson-CSON, being spread across the SON Data Gate- way, the SON Application Server, and the SON Implemen- tation Server. Traxcell argued to the district court that the SON Portal “controls and displays the individual services” of the other servers, and that through it a “user can control and execute all SON functions.” See J.A. 72. But that isn’t enough. That a user can execute all the functions through the SON Portal doesn’t mean that the SON Portal itself is capable of performing the claimed functions. What’s miss- ing is a showing that the SON Portal is a single computer that is capable of performing the claimed functions. To be sure, Traxcell has cited swaths of documents. See Appellant’s Br. 54–57 (arguing that “Traxcell’s briefing was slammed full” of “volumes upon volumes” of evidence). But it failed to link those documents to the SON Portal or to explain how those documents support its infringement theory. It didn’t do so at the trial court, and it didn’t do so here. In conclusion, we agree that summary judgment of noninfringement based on this limitation was proper. 3 Traxcell’s remaining infringement arguments on ap- peal rely on the doctrine of equivalents. But as we con- cluded in the Nokia case, Traxcell surrendered multiple- computer equivalents during prosecution of these patents. See Nokia, slip op. at 11–16. Accordingly, we agree with the district court that the doctrine of equivalents is una- vailable for Traxcell to assert infringement by the use of multiple computers to meet the “first computer” or “com- puter” limitations. IV Next, we turn to indefiniteness. Claim 1 of the ’284 pa- tent was held to be indefinite on two grounds: (1) lack of reasonable certainty about which “wireless device” the term “at least one said wireless device” referred to, J.A. 26–27, 143–44, and (2) lack of an adequate supporting Case: 20-1852 Document: 99 Page: 19 Filed: 10/12/2021
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structure in the specification for the claim’s means-plus- function limitation, J.A. 32–37, 144–45, 154–55. Claim 1 of the ’284 patent was previously held indefi- nite in the Nokia case. See J.A. 966–67, 971 (Markman or- der of January 2019). Traxcell did not appeal that determination and is, of course, precluded from asserting that original claim. But the indefiniteness issue also per- tains to a purportedly corrected version of that claim, which we address below. After the Nokia claim construction order, Traxcell filed a certificate of correction of claim 1 and sought leave to amend its complaint to assert the corrected claim. See J.A. 59, 2077–78. Traxcell argued that even if its original claim 1 was indefinite, it had cured that problem with its correction. Leave to amend, however, was denied as not only prejudicial to Sprint and Verizon but also futile. J.A. 59–61. That is, even if the certificate would correct the first indefiniteness ground, it wouldn’t touch the second. See J.A. 33–37, 60. As we discuss next, we agree that as- serting the corrected claim would be futile because it would remain indefinite for a reason unrelated to the correction. Here, both the original and corrected claim 1 include a “means for receiving said performance data and sug- gest[ing] corrective actions obtained from a list of possible causes for said radio tower based upon the performance data and the corresponding location associated with said at least one wireless device” (emphases added). Traxcell agreed that this is a means-plus-function term. J.A. 32. The district court identified the function to be suggesting corrective actions that were based on location. J.A. 34–35. As the corresponding structure in the specification, Trax- cell pointed to the same algorithm that it did for the similar means-plus-function limitation of claim 12. See supra p. 10. A means-plus-function claim is indefinite if the specifi- cation fails to disclose adequate corresponding structure to perform the claimed function. Williamson v. Citrix Online, Case: 20-1852 Document: 99 Page: 20 Filed: 10/12/2021
LLC, 792 F.3d 1339, 1351–52 (Fed. Cir. 2015). That was the case here. After considering the algorithm that Trax- cell identified, the district court concluded that none of the cited passages of the specification disclose correction based on location data, as claimed. J.A. 36–37, 144–45. It ob- served that Traxcell had not explained how that structure in the specification actually provides location-based correc- tive actions but had instead offered speculation about how location data might be used. J.A. 36–37, 144–45. And it emphasized that “Traxcell’s explanation of the figure and specification provide ‘nothing more than a restatement of the function, as recited in the claim.’” J.A. 145 (quoting Finisar Corp. v. DirecTV Grp., Inc., 523 F.3d 1323, 1340 (Fed. Cir. 2008)). Traxcell first argues that the claimed corrective action need not be based on location at all but rather need only “correspond” to it. Appellant’s Br. 33–35. We disagree in view of the claim language: the correction is “based upon . . . location.” Traxcell then argues that the specification discloses location-based correction anyway. Appellant’s Br. 35–36; Reply Br. 13–14. These arguments, like those presented to the district court, are much too vague and speculative. At most, Traxcell has shown that some soft- ware in the identified structure receives some location data as part of a larger “case file.” And although Traxcell demonstrated that the structure makes corrections based on other performance data, it hasn’t shown that any correc- tions are made using location. We agree with the district court. The specification lacks the necessary structure for claim 1’s means-plus- function limitation, and so the corrected claim remains in- definite. Allowing Traxcell to assert the corrected claim would be futile. The district court therefore did not abuse its discretion in denying leave to amend. Case: 20-1852 Document: 99 Page: 21 Filed: 10/12/2021
TRAXCELL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC v. 21 SPRINT COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY
V Last, we turn to the district court’s judgment of nonin- fringement of the ’388 patent. Although the ’388 patent shares a specification with the SON patents, its claims are not about optimizing a wireless network but are instead about providing naviga- tion information from a wireless network to a mobile de- vice. Specifically, the claims require that the device’s location is (1) determined on the network, (2) communi- cated to the device, and (3) used to display navigation in- formation. J.A. 123–24. The district court determined that, for each accused technology, Traxcell had not shown that this limitation was met under the summary-judgment standard. As explained below, we agree with the district court. A As to Sprint, the relevant accused products are phones sold by Sprint loaded with Google Maps and using Sprint’s wireless network. The court concluded that Traxcell hadn’t shown, for purposes of summary judgment, that the net- work, as opposed to the device, determines a device’s loca- tion. See J.A. 123–24, 129–32, 172. For its part, Sprint offered evidence from Google’s cor- porate representatives that Google Maps never receives a mobile device’s location from the network—instead, the de- vice determines its own location. E.g., J.A. 130, 6643, 6645–46, 6649. Traxcell identifies no evidence specifically rebutting this point. Instead, it argues that Google Maps needs to use data from the network (GPS information, cell tower information, and the like) to determine location. But it is not data from the network that the claims require. It is that the network itself determines location and trans- mits the location to the device. And Traxcell has not shown that the network does so with anything but broad and con- clusory scattershot assertions. See J.A. 130–31 (rejecting Case: 20-1852 Document: 99 Page: 22 Filed: 10/12/2021
arguments as conclusory and unsupported). True, at vari- ous points Traxcell includes footnotes citing documents or other evidence. E.g., Appellant’s Br. 44. But, continually, Traxcell fails to adequately explain the link between the cited evidence and its infringement theory. In part, Traxcell argues that Google’s evidence is only about some ways of location determination—and that there are other ways of finding a phone. But as observed by the district court, Traxcell referenced these alternative ap- proaches “without explaining within its briefing how those approaches are actually utilized within the accused sys- tems” and how the other limitations would be met “when using the specified form of location.” J.A. 118. We agree with the district court; this is not enough to establish a genuine dispute of material fact. Traxcell has not made the showing it needs to withstand summary judg- ment. B As to Verizon, the relevant accused products are phones using either VZ Navigator or Google Maps. Traxcell’s proof problems for Verizon generally parallel those for Sprint. As with the accused Sprint technology, the district court found that Traxcell had failed to provide evidence that the network itself determined the device’s lo- cation. J.A. 81–82. In contrast, Verizon offered evidence that the accused products determine location on the device itself. E.g., J.A. 2137–38, 2171. And again, Traxcell points to nothing specifically rebutting this evidence. Instead, Traxcell argues that location is also deter- mined by Verizon’s network through a handful of other techniques. See Appellant’s Br. 37–40. In doing so, Trax- cell serves up a platter of footnotes and insists that the dis- trict court just didn’t consider all its evidence. E.g., Appellant’s Br. 37–41 & n.131. But again, Traxcell fails to provide the critical link from evidence to infringement. As Case: 20-1852 Document: 99 Page: 23 Filed: 10/12/2021
TRAXCELL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC v. 23 SPRINT COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY
the magistrate judge and district court explained, Trax- cell’s conclusory efforts fell short. It “cite[d] to lengthy doc- uments without specifying the specific portions of those documents that were relevant and without explaining how those documents actually showed that the network deter- mines a location.” J.A. 94. And its “briefing consisted largely of conclusory statements and included citations, typically spanning hundreds of pages, to a large number of documents without any explanation for how those docu- ments supported its conclusory statements.” J.A. 166–67. Accordingly, we agree with the district court that Trax- cell has not made the showing needed to withstand sum- mary judgment. VI Finally, we note that Sprint and Verizon have argued that many of Traxcell’s arguments have been forfeited through failure to timely raise them at the trial court, or for other reasons. We need not reach the forfeiture issues, however, because we agree with the district court and dis- agree with Traxcell on the merits. See Immunex Corp. v. Sanofi-Aventis U.S. LLC, 977 F.3d 1212, 1216 (Fed. Cir. 2020); TEK Glob., S.R.L. v. Sealant Sys. Int’l, Inc., 920 F.3d 777, 787 (Fed. Cir. 2019). CONCLUSION We have considered Traxcell’s remaining arguments but find them unpersuasive. For the reasons we have ex- plained, we affirm. AFFIRMED