Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) did not violate the patent owned by Rovi Corp, says a preliminary judgment from an International Trade Commission. As per the decision the internet video streaming service has not infringed the alleged patent for interactive television program guides.
The final decision on the case will be issued in October.
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Netflix Found Innocent
Rovi claims that Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) has infringed four of its patents; however, the judge has found the streaming service innocent in all. Also, Roku, which was established in 2008 to stream Netflix videos, has been found innocent in the Rovi’s patent claims.
Rovi was seeking to ban imports of Roku boxes to U.S. and block some of the Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) software applications.
ITC Judge David Shaw ruled that one of the patents from Rovi is invalid while the other three are valid. The judgment was declared on June 7, but it was made public on Monday.
On the decision declaring three patents as valid, Rovi executive vice president of worldwide intellectual property, Samir Armaly said “We are pleased that the majority of the patents involved were confirmed valid.” The company will make efforts to license its valid patents and protect the patents from being used without an agreement.
Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) said that it was “pleased with the initial determination and look(s) forward to the full commission confirming it.”
After the news, shares of Rovi corp. were down to $24.20 but recovered later to $25.43. Netflix’s stocks gained 0.5 percent to $221.37.
Other firms sued by Rovi
Last year, Rovi made similar accusations against several companies for breaching it’s on-screen guides for TV listings patent. LG Electronics and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (OTCMKTS:MIELY) settled the dispute with Rovi. Rovi also sued Hulu and Hulu Plus, in 2011 for patent infringement. The two companies settled the case afterwards. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and IMDb.com have also been sued by Rovi and the cases are currently in court.
Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) had also been sued by Princeton Digital Image Corp in Feb. The digital company also sued Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) and Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M), and filed more than 20 different cases against many large organizations.