Interactive TV vendor OpenTV, a subsidiary of
Switzerland-based Kudelski Group, filed a patent-infringement lawsuit against
Netflix, alleging that Netflix infringes seven U.S. patents owned by OpenTV.
Netflix representatives did not immediately respond to a
request for comment.
OpenTV said it filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court
for the District of Delaware. OpenTV is represented by Kirkland & Ellis
LLP.
Kudelski, whose holdings include conditional-access vendor
Nagravision, acquired the portion of San Francisco-based OpenTV it did not
already own in 2009.
OpenTV says its software is integrated in more than 160
million set-tops worldwide, enabling video-on-demand, digital video recording,
advanced advertising and enhanced TV applications. Customers have included Time
Warner Cable, Comcast Spotlight, Dish Network, Charter Communications, NBCUniversal and Suddenlink Communications.
