Video-on-demand provider Movielink did not infringe a USA Video Interactive Corp. patent, according to a federal judge who handed down the summary Markman-process judgment in the case January 28.
The patent in question involves a process for downloading videos from a Web server. USA Video has said a key feature involves calling for video content transmission in faster than real time, interacting with the content that came in – including fast forward, rewinding, pausing – without waiting longer for the next portion of the feature to download.
U.S. District Judge Kent A. Jordan said Movielink did not infringe the patent because its Multi-CDN system doesn't have a distribution interface that initiated connections. Jordan "granted certain Movielink notions as to non-infringement and otherwise denied both parties' pending motions as moot," according to a statement from USA Video Interactive Corp. made available to AVNOnline.com. But the company also emphasized that the court didn't determine the USA Video patent itself unenforceable.
The case had originally been scheduled to go to a jury trial in April 2005.
USA Video also said they are considering other options for recourse in the courts following that ruling, "separately evaluating other companies' potential infringement with a view toward pursuing licensing opportunities where appropriate."
With the patent itself not deemed unenforceable, even if Movielink was found not to have infringed it, "the patent in suit remains entitled to the legal presumption of validity," USA Video said, "and other companies providing Video-on-Demand products and services may still be liable for infringing the patent."
