Dish Gets Judge to Toss Jury's $469 Million Patent Verdict

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Decision comes just 11 days after a Salt Lake City jury awarded parental-control tech maker ClearPlay nearly half a billion dollars over two technologies used in Dish's AutoHop commercial-skipping feature

Dish Network Hopper
(Image credit: Dish Network)

Eleven days after a Salt Lake City jury awarded parental control tech maker ClearPlay  Inc. $469 million in its patent suit against Dish Network, a Utah federal judge threw out the verdict. 

Dish said in a statement that it "has stood firm in its belief that it did not infringe ClearPlay's patents, and is gratified by the court's ruling."

ClearPlay, which makes software allowing parents to skip through video content they find objectionable, sued Dish in 2014, alleging that commercial-skipping "AutoHop" features in the pay TV company's Hopper DVR set-tops violate two of its patents. 

Dish said in a March 3 filing that its technology works differently from the technology in ClearPlay's patents. No reasonable juror, Dish claimed, would determine infringement. 

U.S. District Judge David Nuffer sided with Dish and tossed the verdict.

Daniel Frankel
Daniel Frankel

Daniel Frankel is the managing editor of Next TV, an internet publishing vertical focused on the business of video streaming. A Los Angeles-based writer and editor who has covered the media and technology industries for more than two decades, Daniel has worked on staff for publications including E! Online, Electronic Media, Mediaweek, Variety, paidContent and GigaOm. You can start living a healthier life with greater wealth and prosperity by following Daniel on Twitter today!