Amazon v. Smart Speaker LLC
IPR2026-00280 · US 12,401,720 B1 · Six coordinated petitions, Amazon's own patent deployed as prior art, and a Fintiv clock that is already running. The real question is not whether Lindahl and Williams can kill these claims — it is whether PTAB will ever get the chance to try.
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Case Number | IPR2026-00280 · Patent US 12,401,720 B1 — "System and Method for Server Based Control" |
| PTAB Stage | Filed / Pre-Institution (petition filed March 23, 2026) |
| Petitioner | Amazon.com Services LLC · Real Party-in-Interest: Amazon.com, Inc. |
| Patent Owner | Smart Speaker LLC · Texas LLC, McKinney TX · NPE / PAE holding vehicle for May Patents Ltd. (Hod Hasharon, Israel) |
| Inventors | Yehuda Binder and Benjamin Maytal · May Patents Ltd. |
| Patent Issued | August 26, 2025 · Straight-to-allowance continuation · 109-day prosecution · Zero office actions |
| Priority Date | January 9, 2012 (earliest provisional — treated as effective filing date) |
| Claims Challenged | Claims 1 to 2, 4 to 8, 11 to 26, 29 (26 of 29 total claims) |
| Parallel Litigation | 2:25-cv-00707-JRG · E.D. Tex. (Marshall) · Judge J. Rodney Gilstrap · Filed July 11, 2025 |
| Total Patents Asserted | 5 in complaint ('706, '174, '710, '590, '720) |
| Coordinated IPRs | IPR2026-00145 ('710), -00146 ('706), -00147 ('174), -00148 ('590), -00276 ('721), -00280 ('720 — this case) |
| Primary Prior Art | Lindahl (Apple, filed Oct 2008) + Williams (Amazon Technologies, filed Jan 2011) · Neither cited in prosecution |
| Expert Witness | Dr. Henry H. Houh · MIT PhD EE&CS (1998) · Independent Consultant (EX1002) |
| Petitioner Counsel | Alex S. Yap · Reg. No. 60,609 · Morrison & Foerster LLP · Los Angeles |
| PO Counsel | Peter Lambrianakos / Vincent J. Rubino III · Fabricant LLP |
| Strategy Type | Portfolio Attack · 6 Coordinated Petitions · Industry-Wide Firewall |
Amazon filed 6 simultaneous IPR petitions on March 23, 2026, targeting every patent in Smart Speaker LLC's assertion. This is not a single-patent defensive reflex — it is a comprehensive invalidation campaign designed to neutralize the entire May Patents smart home portfolio. Amazon is fighting on all fronts simultaneously, signalling it does not intend to settle and has invested deeply in the IPR path.
The 255-day gap from complaint to IPR filing places this case firmly in the 6 to 12 month "strategic positioning" bracket — a calculated response developed in parallel with the district court defense, not a rushed defensive reflex. Amazon undertook a thorough analysis of the claim language, selected the strongest prior art references, prepared Dr. Houh's 100+ page declaration, and coordinated across all 6 petitions before filing.
Continuation Deployment Tactic: The '720 patent application was filed on May 8, 2025 — before the complaint was filed on July 11, 2025 — and issued August 26, 2025, just 46 days after suit. Smart Speaker LLC used a Petition to Make Special (inventor age) to guarantee rapid issuance and deploy a fresh, unadjudicated patent into a live litigation. This is a well-worn NPE playbook move that resets the invalidity challenge timeline and creates new damages exposure.
Irony: Amazon's Own Patent as Prior Art. Williams (EX1006) — one of the two primary prior art references — is assigned to Amazon Technologies, Inc. Amazon is deploying its own patent to invalidate a patent asserted against its own Echo products. This underscores that Amazon had no expectation when filing Williams that it would later be weaponized against the Echo product line in this manner.
| Dimension | Analysis |
|---|---|
| Problem Solved | How to use a simple in-home device with a microphone, speaker, and LED to accept voice commands, leverage powerful remote server intelligence, and provide audio and visual feedback without requiring the device to perform complex local processing. |
| Solution | A client device (microphone array + speaker + LED light source + WLAN transceiver in a single enclosure) that captures voice commands, sends them over Wi-Fi to an external internet-connected control server, receives server-generated audio responses for speaker playback, and activates an electric light source — all orchestrated by a remote server implementing PID closed-loop control logic. |
| Mechanism | Voice capture → WLAN upload → Cloud server (voice recognition + response generation) → Audio data returned → Speaker plays + LED activates. The server is the brain; the device is a sensor/actuator terminal. |
| Real-World Product | Amazon Echo ecosystem: Echo Dot, Echo (4th Gen), Echo Show series, Echo Studio, Echo Pop, Echo Hub — all accused products in 2:25-cv-00707. |
| Technology Domain | IoT / Smart Home / Cloud Voice Processing / Wireless Networking (IEEE 802.11) |
| Patent Type | Result patent (not mechanism patent) — claims the outcome, not a specific technical method. Makes design-around extremely difficult: must change the product's fundamental behavior, not just its implementation. |
The '720 patent claims the result — a device that captures voice, gets server response, plays audio, lights up — rather than a specific mechanism. Dr. Houh himself characterizes the specification as "a vague aggregation of off-the-shelf technologies" (Declaration paragraph 19). Result patents are harder to design around: you must change the product's fundamental behavior, not just its implementation. Every structural element of Claim 1 maps directly onto an unavoidable feature of the accused Echo products, which is why Amazon's damages exposure is directly tied to its entire Echo revenue stream rather than a peripheral feature.
| Architecture Layer | Patent Coverage | Avoidability | Design-Around Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud/Server Control Logic | Core claim element 1[F], 1[G], 1[H] | Very Low | Fundamental product redesign — Echo without Alexa cloud is not Echo |
| Voice Capture and Upload | Claim 1[G] — send voice to server | Very Low | Cannot remove; core user interaction model |
| Audio Response Playback | Claim 1[H] — play audio from server | Low | On-device TTS possible but degrades quality; architectural change required |
| LED/Light Response | Claim 1[I] — emit light in response to server data | Medium | Ring light behavior could potentially be redesigned |
| WLAN Connectivity | Claims 1[B], 1[J] | Very Low | All Echo products require Wi-Fi; cellular-only redesign not viable |
| Multiple Microphones | Claim 1[A] | Very Low | Far-field voice recognition requires microphone arrays |
| Dimension | Assessment |
|---|---|
| Revenue Linkage | Direct Amazon Echo product line — a multi-billion dollar annual revenue segment. All 12+ accused products are core Amazon hardware, not peripheral features. |
| Accused Products | Amazon Echo Pop, Echo (4th Gen), Echo Spot, Echo Studio, Echo Show 21, Echo Show 10 (3rd Gen), Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen), Echo Show 8 (3rd Gen), Echo Show 15 (2nd Gen), Echo Show 5 Kids, Echo Pop Kids, Echo Dot Kids, Echo Hub |
| Damages Theory | Reasonable royalty on Echo unit sales. No lost profits claim (NPE has none). Potential for willfulness enhancement — July 2024 licensing letter plus continued infringement. |
| Willfulness Risk | HIGH — May Patents sent licensing letter July 23, 2024. Amazon did not respond on record. Smart Speaker LLC will argue Amazon willfully continued infringing with actual knowledge, opening door to treble damages under 35 U.S.C. §284. |
| NPE Revenue Model | Pure licensing — Smart Speaker LLC has no products. Revenue is entirely from licensing/litigation. FWD invalidation would be existential for their business model on this patent. |
| Industry-Wide Stakes | A validated '720 patent would give May Patents the leverage to pursue Google, Apple, Samsung, and Sonos with a validated claim set. Amazon's victory here is effectively the industry's firewall against a broad smart speaker licensing campaign. |
| Patent | Status | IPR Challenge | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| US 11,128,710 | Issued Sep 2021 | IPR2026-00145 | Filed July 2017. Named in original complaint and July 2024 licensing letter. |
| US 12,010,174 | Issued Jun 2024 | IPR2026-00147 | Filed August 2021. Named in original complaint and July 2024 licensing letter. |
| US 11,190,590 | Issued Nov 2021 | IPR2026-00148 | Named in original complaint and July 2024 licensing letter. |
| US 12,316,706 | Issued May 2025 | IPR2026-00146 | Added to litigation post-complaint. |
| US 12,401,720 | Issued Aug 2025 | IPR2026-00280 (this) | Filed May 8, 2025. Straight-to-allowance. Zero office actions. 109-day prosecution. Deployed 46 days after complaint filed. |
| US 12,401,721 | Pending/Issued | IPR2026-00276 | Same continuation family. Challenged same day. |
Late-Filed Continuation Targeting Post-2014 Products: The Amazon Echo launched in November 2014. The original 2013 application predates Echo by a year. Each continuation in this chain was filed progressively later, with claims evolving toward smart speaker architecture. The '720 was filed in May 2025 — 13 years after the priority date — with claims that map precisely onto the Echo product lineup. PTAB should scrutinize whether claim language drifted from the original disclosure, particularly the specific elements of microphone array + cloud server + audio playback + LED response that characterize the Echo system.
Amazon must invalidate or license all 6 patents across this family to obtain full relief. Even if the '720 is invalidated in this IPR, sibling patents '710, '174, '590, and '706 continue in both district court and their own parallel IPRs. Smart Speaker LLC has engineered a portfolio where no single IPR outcome resolves the dispute. Amazon's coordinated 6-petition approach is a direct response to this redundancy architecture.
Smart Speaker LLC is an NPE whose entire revenue model depends on the '720 family surviving — FWD cancellation is existential for this business. Amazon is an operating company defending a multi-billion dollar product line. However, Amazon also owns one of the two primary prior art references (Williams) — meaning Amazon's own engineers independently developed the same voice-command-with-cloud-response architecture in 2011, before the '720 priority date. This is simultaneously Amazon's strongest invalidity argument and the clearest evidence that the '720's claimed invention was commercially obvious by 2012.
The '720 application (Appl. 19/201,951) was filed May 8, 2025 and issued August 26, 2025 in 109 days with zero office actions, zero rejections, zero amendments, and zero applicant arguments. Examiner Moustafa M. Meky allowed all 29 claims exactly as filed. This creates zero prosecution history estoppel in this application.
Straight-to-Allowance: Zero office actions means the claims are as broad as the applicant dared to write them — a significant vulnerability point that Amazon exploits in its PTAB arguments. No prosecution history estoppel was created. No applicant arguments restrict claim scope. The Petition to Make Special (inventor Binder's advanced age) fast-tracked examination and bypassed the adversarial rigor that would normally narrow claims or generate estoppel.
Critical Gap — Parent Chain Prosecution Governs: Despite zero estoppel in the '720 application, the continuation chain traces back to a 2013 application (13/733,634) that was abandoned — almost certainly after substantive office actions. Any narrowing amendments or arguments made in that application, or in the '710 or '174 prosecution, bind the '720 claims under the Omega Engineering doctrine. Smart Speaker LLC's POPR will almost certainly exploit any estoppel from the parent prosecution that Amazon overlooked.
| Signal | Finding | Implication for IPR |
|---|---|---|
| Office actions issued | ZERO | No prosecution history estoppel created. Claims are as broad as filed. No applicant arguments restrict claim scope. |
| Lindahl before examiner? | Never cited (Houh confirmed) | Overcomes §325(d) / Becton Dickinson. PTAB cannot defer to examiner judgment on Lindahl. Strongest possible §325(d) posture. |
| Williams before examiner? | Never cited (Houh confirmed) | Same — both primary references are new to examination. Highly favorable for institution. |
| Petition to Make Special | Age-based (Binder's advanced age) | Accelerated examination bypassed normal rigor. No record of examiner distinguishing any specific prior art. |
| IDS filings | 12+ rounds, extensive | Examiner had massive prior art but allowed anyway — however, without rejection, no claim-limiting statements were made by applicant. |
| Claim 1[D] drafting error | "electric light source for emitting light for emitting light" — phrase repeated twice | Not corrected in prosecution. Potential definiteness argument. Houh maps LCD display as satisfying element. |
| Claim 1[I] missing word | "emit, by the electric light source" — missing word "light" after "emit" (Houh footnote 2, paragraph 139) | Not corrected in prosecution. Potential definiteness challenge. Creates ambiguity on scope. |
| Parent prosecution (13/733,634) | ABANDONED — not yet reviewed in this analysis | Governs estoppel for entire continuation chain. Critical gap that Smart Speaker LLC's POPR will exploit. |
There is one independent claim (Claim 1) and 28 dependent claims. The dependent claims add specific limitations on speaker type, microphone configuration, LED type, digital audio storage, WLAN standards, enclosure type, and additional actuators. All 26 challenged claims fall if Claim 1 falls.
Element 1[H] is the pivotal battleground. Houh's concession at paragraph 132 that Lindahl "does not expressly disclose receiving audio data and playing it by the speaker (which is not conceded)" is the most significant strategic vulnerability in the entire petition. Smart Speaker LLC's POPR will concentrate its fire here.
| Element | Claim Language (Plain Language) | Type | Invalidity Difficulty | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1[PR] | A device comprising | Preamble | Very Low | Likely non-limiting |
| 1[A] | Multiple microphones for capturing first human voice data | Functional | Low | Lindahl FIG.3 expressly discloses plural microphones |
| 1[B] | WLAN transceiver for transmitting/receiving digital data | Structural/Functional | Low | Lindahl's "wireless communications devices 54" with Wi-Fi transceiver circuitry |
| 1[C] | Speaker for sounding audio data | Functional | Low | Lindahl expressly: "speakers and other devices for creating sound" |
| 1[D] | Electric light source for emitting light [for emitting light] — drafting error, phrase repeated | Functional | Medium | Houh maps LCD display via LED backlighting. PO will argue Echo's LED ring specifically. Potential definiteness risk. |
| 1[E] | Enclosure housing all above components | Structural | Low | Lindahl FIG.2 shows all components in single housing |
| 1[F] | Processors programmed with computer program instructions | Functional | Low | Lindahl's "processing circuitry 46" with software applications |
| 1[G] | Send voice data to server over Internet via WLAN | Functional | Low–Medium | Lindahl expressly discloses voice upload to server over Internet via Wi-Fi (FIG.6) |
| 1[H] ★ | Play audio data received from server via WLAN by speaker — BATTLEGROUND ELEMENT | Functional | Critical | Houh concedes at paragraph 132: Lindahl may not expressly disclose this. Williams fills the gap but requires MTC argument. PO will focus entire POPR here. |
| 1[I] | Emit [light?] by electric light source in response to server data — missing word "light" (Houh footnote 2) | Functional | Medium | PO may argue requires direct server-to-LED command signal, not merely server-to-display-results |
| 1[J] | Device addressed via IP address in WLAN or Internet | Functional | Low | Standard IP networking — every Wi-Fi device has an IP address |
Lindahl is fundamentally a handheld mobile device that returns server results as visual display data. Houh's argument that server responses "may take the form of audio data" is an obviousness inference, not an anticipation finding. The entire Ground 1 case rests on whether the Lindahl + Williams combination creates a sufficiently motivated combination to bridge the audio-playback gap. If PTAB does not find the Williams combination compelling for this element, institution on Ground 1 fails.
Fourteen grounds is unusually high for a single-patent IPR. PTAB has shown increasing skepticism of petitions that present many overlapping grounds for the same independent claim. The Board may view this as scattershot. A focused 2 to 3 ground petition centered on Grounds 1 and 8 would have projected more confidence. PTAB will likely institute on Grounds 1 and 8 only, treating the remaining 12 as redundant.
| Ground | References | Claims | Type | Strength Assessment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ground 1 — Primary | Lindahl + Williams | 1 to 2, 4 to 8, 11 to 26, 29 | §103 | Strongest combination. Maps all Claim 1 elements. Element 1[H] gap filled by Williams. PO will challenge MTC: different device contexts (mobile vs. home speaker). |
| Ground 8 — Alt Primary | Williams + Lim + Benesty | 1, 4 to 26, 29 | §103 | Williams-first approach. Cleaner home device context. Avoids Lindahl's mobile phone problem. More cohesive MTC argument. May be cleaner than Ground 1. |
| Ground 14 — Alt Primary | Lindahl + Evermann | 1 to 2, 4 to 8, 11 to 26, 29 | §103 | Third independent Claim 1 combination. Alternative approach for independent claim coverage. |
| Ground 2 | Lindahl + Williams + iPhone User Guide | 1 to 2, 23 to 26, 29 | §103 | Adds iPhone User Guide for dependent claim coverage only. |
| Ground 3 | Lindahl + Williams + Doherty | 4 to 5 | §103 | Specific speaker type limitations. Dependent claims only. |
| Ground 4 | Lindahl + Williams + Rossing | 7 to 8, 11 to 12 | §103 | Microphone directional limitations. Dependent claims only. |
| Ground 5 | Lindahl + Williams + Benesty | 9 to 10 | §103 | Far-field microphone array. Dependent claims only. |
| Ground 6 | Lindahl + Williams + Goldsmith | 20 to 21 | §103 | WLAN standards specifics. Dependent claims only. |
| Ground 7 | Lindahl + Williams + Slaby | 14, 23, 28 to 29 | §103 | Infrared light and actuator types. Dependent claims only. |
| Grounds 9 to 13 | Williams + Lim + Benesty + various | Dependent claims | §103 | Alternative-primary dependent claim coverage mirroring Grounds 2 to 7 using Williams-first approach. |
Ground 8 uses Williams as the primary reference — a home smart speaker system that more directly maps to the '720's architecture — supplemented by Lim (home networking system) and Benesty (microphone array processing). This avoids the "different device context" problem of Lindahl. Williams is a home-based always-on voice device; Lim covers in-home networking; Benesty covers microphone arrays. The MTC argument for Ground 8 is more cohesive: all three references address the same product category and technical environment. Amazon may have been better served leading with Ground 8.
| District court case | Smart Speaker LLC v. Amazon.com Services LLC · Case No. 2:25-cv-00707-JRG · E.D. Tex. (Marshall Division) · Judge Hon. J. Rodney Gilstrap |
| Complaint filed | July 11, 2025 · IPR filed 255 days later — within 1-year statutory bar under 35 U.S.C. § 315(b) |
| Current stage | Early litigation · Markman briefing likely underway · Projected Markman: Q1 2026 |
| Projected trial date | Q1 to Q2 2027 · Gilstrap's typical 18-month scheduling from complaint · Likely before projected FWD |
| IPR institution expected | ~September 2026 · 6 months from March 2026 filing |
| IPR FWD expected | ~September 2027 · 12 months after institution · Arrives AFTER projected trial |
| Stay motion status | No stay motion publicly visible / confirmed at this stage of analysis — most critical unresolved action item. |
| Fintiv risk | Medium to High · Factors 1, 2, and 3 all weigh toward denial. Factor 6 (strong merits, fresh prior art) is Amazon's only override argument. |
| Fintiv Factor | Finding | Favors |
|---|---|---|
| Factor 1 — Stay likelihood | Judge Gilstrap is historically reluctant to stay cases pending IPR unless institution is very strong and trial is far away. No stay motion publicly visible / confirmed at this stage of analysis. Without a pending stay motion, PTAB cannot assess Factor 1 favorably. | PO — Denial |
| Factor 2 — Trial date proximity | Projected trial Q1 to Q2 2027. Projected FWD September 2027. Trial is currently projected to precede FWD. This is the core Fintiv problem — PTAB risks wasting resources on a case already decided at trial. | PO — Denial (Most Critical) |
| Factor 3 — Issue overlap | Same prior art (Lindahl, Williams) will be raised in district court invalidity defense. Same claims challenged. Significant issue overlap — district court will produce relevant rulings before PTAB reaches FWD. | PO — Denial |
| Factor 4 — Petitioner investment | 8.5 months of litigation; Markman briefing likely underway. Moderate investment but less than cases with completed expert discovery. | Mixed — Neutral |
| Factor 5 — Related PTAB matters | 5 other coordinated IPRs on sibling patents filed same day. PTAB must assess whether coordinated campaign justifies institution on each individual petition. | Mixed |
| Factor 6 — Merits strength | Strong fresh prior art — neither Lindahl nor Williams before examiner. Substantive expert declaration (100+ pages). Per Apple v. Fintiv, strong merits can override Factors 1 to 5. Amazon's primary and only argument against Fintiv denial. | Petitioner — Institution |
If no stay motion has been filed, this is the single highest-leverage action available — filing before Gilstrap sets a trial date is critical. If no stay motion publicly visible / confirmed at this stage of analysis, Factor 1 defaults against Amazon. Gilstrap's history of denying stays is well-documented, but the act of filing builds the record for PTAB's discretionary analysis and signals to the Board that Amazon is pursuing the standard two-track strategy. Delay in filing the stay motion is the single most consequential omission visible in this case right now. Every week without the motion compounds adverse Fintiv Factors 1 through 4 simultaneously.
A validated '720 patent covering the fundamental architecture of cloud-connected smart speakers would give Smart Speaker LLC / May Patents leverage to pursue every major smart speaker manufacturer. Amazon's fight is the industry's firewall. The global smart speaker market exceeds $12B annually. The "If Patents Survive" analysis is available to GreyB clients via the form below.
| Company | Exposure | Architecture Match | Products at Risk LOCKED | If Patents Survive ⚠ | If Patents Fail |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Amazon Current defendant · Echo lineup |
Immediate | Exact match to all elements |
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|
Immediate relief; IPR precedent for all 6 sibling patents; industry freedom to operate confirmed; 8 to 9 figure damages exposure eliminated | |
Google / Alphabet Very likely next target |
Very High | Identical cloud architecture |
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|
Free ride on Amazon's FWD; avoids licensing demand and litigation cost entirely; Google monitoring this case closely | |
Apple Medium-risk target |
Medium | Partial cloud dependency |
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|
Reduced risk; May Patents licensing posture weakened across entire smart speaker industry; on-device processing argument mooted | |
Samsung Limited market presence |
Medium | Cloud-dependent Bixby |
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|
Ecosystem-wide relief; Samsung's own IP portfolio provides defensive leverage regardless of outcome | |
Sonos Alexa/Google integration |
Medium | Cloud-assisted, Alexa-integrated |
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|
Full relief on cloud-processing claims; Alexa-integrated product line freed from licensing obligation |
Institution decision — est. September 2026. Grant shifts leverage sharply to Amazon; deal window opens on Amazon's terms. Denial shifts leverage to Smart Speaker LLC; W.D. Texas accelerates; settlement at Smart Speaker-favorable terms. Most likely negotiation activity immediately post-institution either way.
Gilstrap sets trial date — est. June to July 2026. Most critical trigger. A Q1 2027 trial date with no stay equals full damages exposure with willfulness. Smart Speaker LLC's leverage maximized. Markman order on claim constructions will also shape damages range and settlement price materially.
Base probability approximately 15% for pre-FWD settlement given Amazon's 6-IPR fight posture. Most likely scenario in 12 months (Fintiv denial): Amazon faces full trial with willfulness damages, Q1 2027 trial date, and Smart Speaker LLC emboldened to demand a premium settlement. The probability-weighted expected outcome suggests Amazon should be negotiating a portfolio license on all 6 patents while simultaneously prosecuting all 6 IPRs — using the IPR filings as leverage to reduce the royalty rate, not as a substitute for settlement strategy. Running royalty likelihood: Low — Amazon's posture consistently disfavors ongoing royalties on core products.
| Scenario | Probability | Key Indicators | Most Likely Path |
|---|---|---|---|
| Institution Granted → Claims Cancelled at FWD | ~30% | Strong Grounds 1 and 8; fresh art; stay granted by Gilstrap | PTAB institutes on Grounds 1 and 8; stay granted; trial postponed; PO unable to distinguish Lindahl + Williams at FWD; '720 cancelled; sibling IPRs follow; PO settles at reduced rates |
| Institution Denied (Fintiv) | ~35% | Gilstrap sets Q1 2027 trial; no stay motion publicly visible / confirmed at this stage of analysis; trial before FWD | PTAB denies on Fintiv Factors 1 to 3; Amazon loses IPR safety valve; trial proceeds on full damages with willfulness; settlement at above-market royalty or jury verdict |
| Institution Granted → Claims Survive FWD | ~20% | Element 1[H] MTC fails; parent prosecution estoppel discovered; panel skeptical of device-context combination | PTAB institutes but PO mounts strong FWD defense; claims survive with narrowed scope; patent validated; PO accelerates licensing campaign against Google, Apple, Sonos |
| Settlement Pre/Post-Institution | ~15% | Fintiv denial pressure or sibling IPR outcomes drive parties to table | Portfolio license negotiated covering all 6 patents; terms driven by willfulness exposure and trial proximity; industry sets market rate for cloud-connected smart speaker architecture |
If no stay motion has been filed, this is the single highest-leverage action available — filing before Gilstrap sets a trial date is critical. If no stay motion publicly visible / confirmed at this stage of analysis, Fintiv Factor 1 defaults against Amazon. Gilstrap's history of denying stays is well-documented, but the act of filing builds the record for PTAB's discretionary analysis and signals to the Board that Amazon is pursuing the standard two-track strategy. Delay in filing the stay motion is the single most consequential omission visible in this case right now. The Fintiv window that Lindahl and Williams need to reach a PTAB panel is closing with every passing week.