nCUBE files U.S. patent infringement suit against SeaChange
"The nCUBE VOD technology was developed under '804, which is a core industry patent, that pertains to the fundamentals of VOD," said Michael Pohl, president, nCUBE. "It is clear that SeaChange's VOD products infringe the '804 Patent. We acquired the ability to protect our intellectual property rights, and in the best interest of our customers, we are moving to protect this claim."
SeaChange president and CEO Bill Styslinger said the company had not been notified about the lawsuit before this week. "Although it would usually seem reasonable to address a conflict prior to involving the courts, we have had an opportunity to review nCUBE's claim of patent infringement and we believe it is without merit," he said. "SeaChange will vigorously defend its technology, products and customers."
The '804 Patent, filed in November 1994, covers fundamental systems and methods for providing multimedia solutions in today's networked environment. Applications are split such that client devices (STBs, PDAs, etc.) can focus on presentation, while backend servers running in a distributed server complex provide access to data, and manage the acquisition of data from numerous sources. The technology covered by the '804 patent is essential to providing a commercially viable real-time multimedia VOD server that supports storage and playback of real-time audio and video data.
In September 2000, a Delaware jury issued a verdict in favor of SeaChange in regards to a minor patent infringement. To date, there has been no entry of judgment or final ruling from the court. nCUBE currently has three post-trial motions pending before the court based on its belief that the jury made several errors in reaching its verdict.
Source: nCUBE
With contributions by John McKnight, Assistant Editor