Netflix Versus Uniloc: Patent Infringement Case

Computer security company Uniloc filed a patent infringement lawsuit against the global streaming service Netflix.  This suit was filed at the US District Court for the Central District of California on 4th December 2018.  According to the lawsuit, Netflix infringed two of Uniloc's patented methods. The feature 'continue watching' provided by Netflix was mentioned in the suit. This feature allows the viewer to watch the TV shows they started watching, from exactly where they left it.

According to the suit, Netflix infringed the patent “Method of coding digital image based on error concealment” (US patent 6,895,118) and “System and method for aggregating and providing audio and visual presentations via a computer network” (US patent 9,721,273). The latter contains the idea of a webpage creation, which presents a collection of presentation to the viewer. The suit further claimed that Netflix infringed the patent by providing content using computer networks and systems.

The “273 patent” is used to provide useful content to an individual user, based on the data collected and analyzed from multiple sources. Netflix's “continue watching” infringes this patent. Uniloc further accused Netflix of infringing the patent by storing data about films and shows of a particular category. This data is used to recommend shows to a particular user according to their choices.

The streaming service also allows the user to create their own playlist according to their preferences. In addition, Uniloc accused Netflix of infringing the patent by saving information about the amount of time used by the user to watch the show in the “continue watching” section. Uniloc is seeking legal fees and triple damages from Netflix. The verdict of this case is yet to be disclosed.