M+E Daily

Kudelski’s OpenTV Sues NFL, Claiming Patent Infringement

OpenTV has filed another patent infringement suit, this time against NFL Enterprises (NFLE) in U.S. District Court in Marshall, Texas. The Kudelski Group subsidiary claimed in the suit, filed Jan. 12 and announced by OpenTV Jan. 16, that NFLE’s online video streaming and other services infringed on seven U.S. patents owned by OpenTV.

The interactive video content provided on NFL.com and other NFL services infringed on several OpenTV claimed, according to a copy of the suit obtained by the Media & Entertainment Services Alliance (MESA). The services in question include NFL Network/NFL Redzone, NFL Now, NFL Game Pass, NFL Mobile, the NFL App and NFL Fantasy Football, OpenTV said.

OpenTV claimed NFLE directly and indirectly infringed the patents by “making, using, offering for sale, and selling its online video services and inducing and contributing to the infringement of others.” OpenTV is seeking unspecified damages and other relief.

Previously, OpenTV made similar patent infringement claims against Apple in 2014 and Netflix in 2012. But those disputes were resolved after agreements were reached between the parties.

The patents — seven in all — range from a technology that requires an application to request a PIN for a user’s device before granting access to protected content (allegedly used by Redzone applications incorporating authorization functionality are in violation of the patent) to another that uses computer hardware and software technologies to “parse digital signals to identify relational metadata and related video signals,” according to the suit.

“NFLE’s acts of direct and indirect infringement have caused, and continue to cause, damage to OpenTV, and OpenTV is entitled to recover damages sustained as a result of NFLE’s wrongful acts in an amount subject to proof at trial,” the suit reads.

NFLE didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about the suit.