The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit this week handed RM client WhereverTV, Inc. a complete appellate victory in its ongoing intellectual property battle with Comcast Cable Communications, LLC.
In a nonprecedential decision released July 28, a three-judge panel unanimously vacated and remanded a lower court’s mid-trial dismissal of WhereverTV’s case against Comcast, paving the way for a second jury trial.
WhereverTV owns patented technology for an interactive program guide that enables users to watch traditional cable and satellite television channels and streaming services like Netflix all in one place, without having to change a TV’s input. WhereverTV sued Comcast in 2018 for infringing its ‘431 patent with its Xfinity X1 entertainment platform.
The case went to a jury trial in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida in April 2023, but before the jury could begin deliberating, the trial court granted Comcast’s judgment as a matter of law (JMOL), tossing WhereverTV’s case.
In the Federal Circuit decision, written by Judge Kara Farnandez Stoll, the panel sided with WhereverTV on several key claim construction issues and rejected Comcast’s cross-appeal arguments, handing a slam-dunk victory to the client. The court clarified that the patent’s interactive program guide application need not provide all functionality alone, and that adding or deleting channels may include subscribing and unsubscribing – restoring WhereverTV’s infringement claims for further trial court proceedings.
This Federal Circuit win validates some of RM’s greatest values: giving clients their full day in court and letting jurors decide the fate of cases, an underutilized right in today’s civil justice system.
“The decision vindicates our client, who developed cutting-edge technology that fuses cable television with streaming services to create a more user-friendly experience,” said RM partner Adam Sanderson. “We’re grateful to the Court for its thorough consideration of our appeal. Now, there’s just one thing to do: return this case to a jury as soon as possible. We look forward to trying this case in the courtroom, where it belongs.”
WhereverTV’s legal team also includes RM partners Brett Rosenthal and Jamison Joiner.