Rovi Provides an Update on Ongoing Litigation
July 16 2015 - 2:08AM
Business Wire
Company Committed to Enforcing its Intellectual
Property Against Netflix
Rovi Corporation (NASDAQ: ROVI) today provided an update on
ongoing litigation against Netflix, Inc. ("Netflix").
Rovi has been engaged in litigation against Netflix with respect
to five patents related to various features and functionality
provided by the over-the-top (OTT) video service.
On July 15, 2015, Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton issued a ruling
granting Netflix’s motion for summary judgment on the five patents
at issue in the current litigation, finding the patents invalid on
the grounds that they are not directed to patentable subject matter
based upon the Supreme Court’s 2014 ruling in Alice Corp. Pty. Ltd.
v. CLS Bank International. As a result, the Court has entered
judgment in favor of Netflix in the case.
Samir Armaly, Rovi’s executive vice president of intellectual
property and licensing, said, “While we are pleased that the Court
sided with Rovi on the key claim construction issues, we are
disappointed in, and strongly disagree with, the Court’s decision
finding the five patents invalid and plan to appeal that
decision.”
“Additionally,” Mr. Armaly added, “it is important to remember
that this litigation, initiated by Netflix, was filed in 2011, more
than two years before the Supreme Court issued the Alice ruling on
patentable subject matter. It is also important to remember that
only five patents from our portfolio were at issue in this case,
and Rovi’s US patent portfolio includes more than 1,500 issued
patents and pending applications. We are committed to enforcing our
intellectual property against Netflix until the necessary licenses
are in place. As we do so, we will be selecting patents from our
diverse patent portfolio with the benefit of having the Alice
decision and its reasoning factored into that patent
selection.”
As part of the decision, Judge Hamilton also issued a claim
construction ruling in the case in which the Court construed the
nine disputed claim terms in the case. The Court ruled in Rovi’s
favor on nearly all of the disputed claim terms, only adopting
Netflix’s proposed construction of a single term. Importantly, the
Court rejected attempts by Netflix to limit the scope of the
patents to the area of “broadcast television,” noting that the
claims contain no such limitations and the patents refer to other
types of media. Furthermore, the Court rejected attempts by Netflix
to limit the scope of the patents to set-top box
implementations.
Mr. Armaly continued, “Other leading OTT providers, including
Apple, Google and Hulu, have previously taken a license under the
Rovi patent portfolio, and we remain confident that Netflix
requires a similar license. While our litigation continues against
Netflix, we intend to continue to grow our leading entertainment
discovery patent licensing program, including with upcoming
renewals in the US Pay-TV market. Although litigation is always an
inherent part of any licensing program, Rovi’s licensing program
has been built over the past decade without having to rely on
courtroom victories for success. We expect that to continue in the
future with the vast majority of our agreements resulting from
normal commercial negotiations. Our recent renewal with Charter,
covering both set-top-box and second screen video platforms, is an
example of one such agreement.”
About Rovi Corporation
Rovi is leading the way to a more personalized entertainment
experience. The company’s pioneering guides, metadata and
recommendations continue to drive program search and navigation on
millions of devices across the globe. With a new generation of
cloud-based discovery capabilities and emerging solutions for
interactive advertising and audience analytics, Rovi is enabling
premier brands worldwide to increase their reach, drive consumer
satisfaction and create a better entertainment experience across
multiple screens. Rovi holds over 5,000 issued or pending patents
worldwide and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California. Discover
more about Rovi at Rovicorp.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
All statements contained herein that are not statements of
historical fact, including statements that use the words “will” or
“is expected to,” or similar words that describe the Company’s or
its management’s future plans, objectives or goals, are
“forward-looking statements” and are made pursuant to the
Safe-Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and
unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause the
actual results of the Company to be materially different from the
historical results and/or from any future results or outcomes
expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such
factors are further addressed in the Company’s most recent report
on Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2015, and such other
documents as are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
from time to time (available at www.sec.gov). The Company assumes
no obligation to update any forward-looking statements in order to
reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of
this release, except as required by law.
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Investor ContactsRovi CorporationPeter Halt, CFO, +1
818-295-6800orPeter Ausnit, VP IR, +1
818-565-5200Peter.Ausnit@RoviCorp.com
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