Company Committed to Enforcing its Intellectual Property Against
Netflix
SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
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 Contacts
Rovi Corporation
Peter Halt, CFO, +1
818-295-6800
or
Peter Ausnit, VP IR, +1 818-565-5200
[email protected]
Source: Rovi Corporation