Comcast secured a ruling of no infringement in a patent infringement jury trial in the Middle District of Florida. Faegre Drinker product liability and mass torts partner Traci McKee served as Florida counsel to Comcast among the trial team led by attorneys from Davis Polk & Wardwell.
On April 26, 2023, after a one-week jury trial and minutes before closing arguments were to commence, Judge William Jung of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida granted judgment as a matter of law of no infringement for Comcast.
WhereverTV sued Comcast in 2018 for patent infringement related to the integration of Netflix and other over-the-top apps onto Comcast’s X1 platform. Comcast denied infringement on multiple grounds, explaining why its X1 system did not use WhereverTV's patent. WhereverTV, which was funded by Longford Capital, asked the jury for $177 million.
On April 25, Comcast moved for judgment as a matter of law – WhereverTV hadn't presented sufficient evidence to show that the X1 platform infringed claimed aspects of the asserted patent — such as "adding or deleting channels" and "an interactive program guide" application installed on the device.
Judge Jung granted that motion on the sixth day of the jury trial and plans to issue a final order on June 7.
See Law360’s coverage of the case and verdict for more details.
