Salt Lake City, UTAH, March 23, 2023 – Baker Botts L.L.P., a leading international law firm, secured a major victory for client DISH Network when a federal judge reversed a patent infringement jury verdict of almost $470 million.

In granting DISH’s motion for judgment as a matter of law, Federal Judge David Nuffer ruled that DISH’s AutoHop feature, which allows viewers to automatically skip commercials when playing back certain recorded programs, did not infringe on ClearPlay’s patents on technology to filter out objectionable content, like violence and swearing, from movies. The patents in question are US Patent Nos. 7,577,970 and 6,898,799.

The Judge found that ClearPlay’s “claims for literal infringement, infringement under the doctrine of equivalents, induced infringement, and willful infringement fail as a matter of law.”

The case is ClearPlay, Inc. v. DISH Network LLC, D. Utah, No. 2:14-cv-191.

This victory follows another win obtained for DISH, in which the International Trade Commission issued a Final Determination finding infringement of DISH’s patents by Peloton and iFit. The Commission also issued limited exclusion orders and cease and desist orders prohibiting the unlicensed importation and distribution of infringing devices by Peloton and iFit.

The Baker Botts team representing DISH in Utah includes:

Intellectual Property: G. Hopkins Guy III, Kurt Pankratz, Rob Maier, Lauren J. Dreyer, Ali Dhanani, Jamie R. Lynn, Eric Faragi, Samuel L. Kassa, Bethany R. Salpietra, Steve Maule, Lori Ding, and Chelsea Zhang.

Brent O. Hatch, Tyler V. Snow, and Adam Pace of Hatch Law Group PC acted as local counsel.

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Baker Botts is an international law firm whose lawyers practice throughout a network of offices around the globe. Based on our experience and knowledge of our clients' industries, we are recognized as a leading firm in the energy, technology and life sciences sectors. Since 1840, we have provided creative and effective legal solutions for our clients while demonstrating an unrelenting commitment to excellence. For more information, please visit bakerbotts.com.