United Servs. Auto. Ass'n v. PNC Bank

• Decision Date: 22 November 2021
• Docket Number: CIV. A. 2:20-CV-00319-JRG,2:21-CV-00110-JRG
• Parties: UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION, Plaintiff, v. PNC BANK N.A., Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Texas

UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION, Plaintiff,
v.
PNC BANK N.A., Defendant.

CIV. A. Nos. 2:20-CV-00319-JRG, 2:21-CV-00110-JRG

United States District Court, E.D. Texas, Marshall Division

November 22, 2021

CLAIM CONSTRUCTION MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

RODNEY GILSTRAP, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Before the Court is the Opening Claim Construction Brief (Dkt. No. 64) filed by Plaintiff United Services Automobile Association (“Plaintiff” or “USAA”). Also before the Court is the Responsive Claim Construction Brief (Dkt. No. 212) filed by Defendant PNC Bank N.A. (“Defendant” or “PNC”), as well as USAA's reply (Dkt. No. 215). This set of briefing addresses patents asserted by USAA against PNC.

Further before the Court are the Opening Claim Construction Brief (Dkt. No. 196) filed by PNC, the Responsive Claim Construction Brief filed by USAA (Dkt. No. 213), and the reply brief filed by PNC (Dkt. No. 214). This set of briefing addresses patents asserted by PNC against USAA.

The Court held a hearing on November 10, 2021.

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Table of Contents

I. BACKGROUND ....................................................................................................................... 4

II. LEGAL PRINCIPLES ........................................................................................................... 7

III. AGREED TERMS ............................................................................................................... 12

IV. DISPUTED TERMS IN PATENTS ASSERTED BY USAA AGAINST PNC .............. 13

1. “mobile device” / “mobile device associated with an image capture device” / “digital camera” / “portable device” ................................................................................................ 14

2. “checking for errors” ........................................................................................................... 21

3. “instructing, ” “giving an instruction, ” “assisting the customer with lighting, ” “displaying a graphical illustration, ” “control[ling] display of instructions, ” “displaying, ” “assisting the user, ” “assist[ing] the customer, ” and “giving an instruction” ..................................... 24

4. “bank computer” and “third-party vendor computer” ......................................................... 24

5. “a computing device for processing a remote deposit of a check, the computing device comprising” and “a method for controlling a computing device to process a remote deposit of a check, the method comprising” ....................................................................... 25

6. “first processing circuitry” / “second processing circuitry” ................................................ 29

7. “suitable for creating a substitute check” ............................................................................ 32

8. “an image capture and processing system for use with optical character recognition (OCR)” / “an image capture and processing system for use with a digital camera” and “a system for allowing a customer to deposit a check using the customer's own mobile device with a digital camera” / “a system for allowing a customer to deposit a check using a customer's own handheld mobile device with a digital camera” ........................... 34

9. “general purpose computer” ................................................................................................ 36

10. “submitting the check for [mobile check] deposit” ........................................................... 38

11. “PDA” ................................................................................................................................ 39

12. “a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising computer-readable instructions] for depositing a check” / “[a system] for depositing a check” ....................... 40

13. “mobile device” ................................................................................................................. 43

14. “passes the monitoring criterion” ...................................................................................... 45

15. (a) “capture the image of the check [with / using] the camera” / “capture the image of the check” and (b) “when the image of the check [in the field of view] passes the monitoring criterion” .......................................................................................................... 49

16. “feedback . . . regarding the image of the check with respect to the monitoring criterion” ............................................................................................................................................ 56

17. “image monitoring and capture module” ........................................................................... 59

18. “instructions that provide feedback” / “feedback” / “feedback comprises instructions”... 65

19. “deposit system” ................................................................................................................ 66

20. (a) “determin[ing] whether the image of the check aligns with the alignment guide” / “the image of the check is determined to align with the alignment guide” and (b) “when

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the image of the check is determined to align with the alignment guide” and (c) “when at least [one edge / a first edge and a second edge / a first edge, second edge, and a third edge] of the image of the check aligns” .............................................................................. 67

V. DISPUTED TERMS IN PATENTS ASSERTED BY PNC AGAINST USAA ............... 73

21. “external system” ............................................................................................................... 73

22. “the message to be transmitted to an external system” ...................................................... 78

23. “verifying access and transmission rights of the data source system and the external system” ................................................................................................................................ 81

24. “secure service router” ....................................................................................................... 84

25. “message transformation logic module / transforming the message / response transformer / transforming the response” and “transforming the request / transform the response / transforming . . . the response” .......................................................................... 88

26. “second keystore coupled to the web server” .................................................................... 96

27. “bar” ................................................................................................................................... 98

28. “wherein the second bar is positioned within the first bar, ” “wherein the third bar is positioned within the fourth bar, ” and “wherein the fifth bar is positioned within the sixth bar” .................................................................................................................................... 106

29. “estimating income to the customer during the first / second / third time period” .......... 112

30. “graphical banking interface” .......................................................................................... 115

31. “graphical representation” ............................................................................................... 118

32. “accepting, from the user, using the processor, a designation of an intended purpose of use of the amount of funds and a date of intended use of the amount of funds” .............. 123

33. “transferring the amount of funds from at least one receiving account to the funding account on the date of intended use” ................................................................................ 127

VI. CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................. 129

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I. BACKGROUND

USAA alleges infringement of United States Patents No. 8, 699, 779 (“the '779 Patent”), 8, 977, 571 (“the '571 Patent”), 10, 013, 605 (“the '605 Patent”), 10, 013, 681 (“the '681 Patent”), 10, 482, 432 (“the '432 Patent”), and 10, 621, 559 (“the '559 Patent”) (collectively, “the USAA Patents”). (Dkt. No. 197, Exs. 1-6). USAA submits that “[t]he asserted patents relate to mobile remote deposit capture (‘MRDC') technology.” (Dkt. No. 197, at 1.)

The '779 Patent, titled “Systems and Methods for Alignment of Check During Mobile

Deposit, ” issued on April 15, 2014, and bears a filing date of August 28, 2009. The Abstract of the '779 Patent states:

An alignment guide may be provided in the field of view of a camera associated with a mobile device used to capture an image of a check. When the image of the check is within the alignment guide in the field of view, an image may be taken by the camera and provided from the mobile device to a financial institution. The alignment guide may be adjustable at the mobile device. The image capture may be performed automatically by the camera or the mobile device as soon as the image of the check is determined to be within the alignment guide. The check may be deposited in a user's bank account based on the image. Any technique for sending the image to the financial institution may be used.

The '571 Patent, titled “Systems and Methods for Image Monitoring of Check During Mobile Deposit, ” issued on March 10, 2015, and bears a filing date of August 21, 2009. The Abstract of the '571 Patent states:

An image of a check that is in the field of view of a camera is monitored prior to the image of the check being captured The camera is associated with a mobile device. When the image of the check in the field of view passes monitoring criteria, an image may be taken by the camera and provided from the mobile

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