TV provider convinces judge to overturn $469m jury verdict
Judge reverses earlier decision less than two weeks later | TV company argued its ad-skipping technology differs from ClearPlay’s parental-control technology | Earlier finding overturned as plaintiff’s claims “fail as a matter of law”.
Dish Network, a US-based TV provider, no longer has to pay damages of $469 million to parental-control tech firm ClearPlay.
Less than two weeks after the jury verdict was filed on March 10, a US district judge reversed the finding that Dish’s AutoHop advert-skipping feature infringed two of ClearPlay's patents.
ClearPlay provides filtering technology via an app that works with content from online streaming services and DVDs. It enables users to filter adult-related content, such as sex, violence and drugs, by automatically skipping over and muting certain scenes and language.
Dish’s AutoHop feature, accessed via its Hopper DVR (digital video recording) set-top boxes, works with recorded content on its PrimeTime Anytime service.
ClearPlay originally sued Dish and co-defendant EchoStar Technologies in 2014 for four patents, alleging violation of its patents by using this technology.
But two of those patents were dropped, leaving US patents 7,577,970 and 6,898,799 in dispute. According to court documents, the patents “describe a mechanism that monitors the current play position in multimedia content, and compares the play position against a data set comprising a ‘start position’, a ‘stop position’ and a ‘filtering action’ to be performed.”
ClearPlay’s founder Matt Jarman developed technology that is described as a “method and system that assists consumers in identifying and filtering portions of objectionable multimedia content”.
But Dish argued that there are differences between the two parties’ products, and filed a motion during the recent trial, which Judge David Nuffer granted yesterday in the US District Court for the District of Utah.
He concluded that ClearPlay’s “claims for literal infringement, infringement under the doctrine of equivalents, induced infringement, and wilful infringement fail as a matter of law.”
In a statement, Dish said it “has stood firm in its belief that it did not infringe ClearPlay’s patents, and is gratified by the Court’s ruling.”
WIPR has contacted legal representatives for comment.
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