ClearPlay v. Dish Network (D.Utah 2023)

Earlier in March 2023, a Utah jury sided with the patentee ClearPlay – find that Dish Network infringed two “clean movie” patents used to to skip the naughty bits of a video program. US7577970 (Claims 28 and 33); and US6898799 (Claim 12).  The jury went on to award a “reasonable royalty” of $469 million.

Hold that pause button.  This week, Judge Nutter rejected the jury verdict and instead granted the defendant’s motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law.  Nutter concluded that the patentee had not shown either literal infringement or infringement by equivalents.  The court ordered DISH to prepare a draft order for his signature that adopts the rational from its briefing.

The draft order will contain support, citations, and consistent rationale from its briefing; transcript references from DISHs appendix (which should be used extensively in the draft order); and references to contrary positions taken by ClearPlay to illustrate the conflicts that this ruling resolves.

Minute Entry of March 21.   The case has been pending since 2014.