Dish Network 2012 Annual Report Download - page 30

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Olympic Developments AG, LLC
On January 20, 2011, Olympic Developments AG, LLC (“Olympic”) filed suit against our wholly-owned
subsidiary, DISH Network L.L.C., Atlantic Broadband, Inc., Bright House Networks, LLC, Cable One, Inc., Cequel
Communications Holdings I, LLC, CSC Holdings, LLC, GCI Communication Corp., Insight Communications
Company, Inc., Knology, Inc., Mediacom Communications Corporation and RCN Telecom Services, LLC in the
United States District Court for the Central District of California alleging infringement of United States Patent Nos.
5,475,585 and 6,246,400. The patents relate to on-demand services. Olympic is an entity that seeks to license an
acquired patent portfolio without itself practicing any of the claims recited therein. On June 13, 2011, the case was
transferred to the Northern District of California. On November 7, 2011, the case was stayed pending reexamination
by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
We intend to vigorously defend this case. In the event that a court ultimately determines that we infringe any of
the asserted patents, we may be subject to substantial damages, which may include treble damages, and/or an
injunction that could cause us to materially modify certain features that we currently offer to consumers. We
cannot predict with any degree of certainty the outcome of the suit or determine the extent of any potential liability
or damages.
Personalized Media Communications, Inc.
During 2008, Personalized Media Communications, Inc. (“PMC”) filed suit against us, EchoStar and Motorola Inc.
in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas alleging infringement of United States Patent
Nos. 5,109,414, 4,965,825, 5,233,654, 5,335,277, and 5,887,243, which relate to satellite signal processing. PMC is
an entity that seeks to license an acquired patent portfolio without itself practicing any of the claims recited
therein. Subsequently, Motorola Inc. settled with PMC, leaving EchoStar and us as defendants. On July 18, 2012,
pursuant to a Court order, PMC filed a Second Amended Complaint that added Rovi Guides, Inc. (f/k/a/ Gemstar-
TV Guide International, Inc.) and TVG-PMC, Inc. (collectively, “Gemstar”) as a party, and added a new claim
against all defendants seeking a declaratory judgment as to the scope of Gemstar’s license to the patents in suit,
under which we and EchoStar are sublicensees. A new trial date has not yet been set.
We intend to vigorously defend this case. In the event that a court ultimately determines that we infringe any of the
asserted patents, we may be subject to substantial damages, which may include treble damages, and/or an injunction
that could cause us to materially modify certain features that we currently offer to consumers. We cannot predict
with any degree of certainty the outcome of the suit or determine the extent of any potential liability or damages.
Pragmatus Telecom, LLC
On December 5, 2012, Pragmatus Telecom, LLC (“Pragmatus”) filed a patent infringement lawsuit against us in the
United States District Court for the District of Delaware alleging infringement of United States Patent Nos.
6,311,231, 6,668,286, and 7,159,043. Pragmatus alleges that the click-to-chat and click-to-call customer support
features of the DISH web site and call center management systems infringe these patents. Pragmatus has brought
similar complaints against more than 40 other companies, including Comcast, AT&T, Sprint, Frontier
Communications, Bright House, UPS, FedEx, GM and Ford. Pragmatus is an entity that seeks to license an acquired
patent portfolio without itself practicing any of the claims recited therein.
We intend to vigorously defend this case. In the event that a court ultimately determines that we infringe any of the
asserted patents, we may be subject to substantial damages, which may include treble damages, and/or an injunction
that could cause us to materially modify certain features that we currently offer to consumers. We cannot predict
with any degree of certainty the outcome of the suit or determine the extent of any potential liability or damages.
Premier International Associates, LLC
On August 3, 2012, Premier International Associates, LLC (“Premier International Associates”) filed a complaint
against us, our wholly-owned subsidiaries, DISH DBS and DISH Network L.L.C., and EchoStar and its wholly-
owned subsidiary, EchoStar Technologies L.L.C., in the United States District Court for the Northern District
of Illinois alleging infringement of United States Patent No. 6,243,725 (the “725 patent”), which is entitled “List
Building System.” The 725 patent relates to a system for building an inventory of audio/visual works. Premier
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International Associates is an entity that seeks to license an acquired patent portfolio without itself practicing any of
the claims recited therein.
We intend to vigorously defend this case. In the event that a court ultimately determines that we infringe the
asserted patent, we may be subject to substantial damages, which may include treble damages, and/or an injunction
that could require us to materially modify certain features that we currently offer to consumers. We cannot predict
with any degree of certainty the outcome of the suit or determine the extent of any potential liability or damages.
Preservation Technologies, LLC
In December 2011, Preservation Technologies, LLC (“Preservation Technologies”) filed suit against us in the
United States District Court for the Central District of California. In the Operative Sixth Amended Complaint,
filed on or about August 24, 2012, Preservation Technologies also names Netflix, Inc., Facebook, Inc., Hulu, LLC,
AT&T Services, Inc., Cox Communications, Inc., Disney Online, American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. and
Yahoo! Inc. as defendants. Preservation Technologies alleges that our BLOCKBUSTER On Demand, DISH
branded pay-TV and DISH Online services and our Hopper and Joey™ set-top boxes infringe U.S. Patent Nos.
5,813,014, 5,832,499, 6,092,080, 6,353,831, 6,574,638, 6,199,060, 5,832,495, 6,549,911, 6,212,527 and
6,477,537. The patents relate to digital libraries, the management of multimedia assets, and the cataloging of
multimedia data. Preservation Technologies is an entity that seeks to license an acquired patent portfolio without
itself practicing any of the claims recited therein.
We intend to vigorously defend this case. In the event that a court ultimately determines that we infringe any of
the asserted patents, we may be subject to substantial damages, which may include treble damages, and/or an
injunction that could cause us to materially modify certain features that we currently offer to consumers. We
cannot predict with any degree of certainty the outcome of the suit or determine the extent of any potential liability
or damages.
Ronald A. Katz Technology Licensing, L.P.
During 2007, Ronald A. Katz Technology Licensing, L.P. (“Katz”) filed a patent infringement action against our
wholly-owned subsidiary, DISH Network L.L.C., in the United States District Court for the Northern District of
California. The suit originally alleged infringement of 19 patents owned by Katz. The patents relate to interactive
voice response, or IVR, technology. The case has been transferred and consolidated for pretrial purposes in the
United States District Court for the Central District of California by order of the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict
Litigation. Only four patents remain in the case against us, of which all are expired and two are subject to granted
reexamination proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
We intend to vigorously defend this case. In the event that a court ultimately determines that we infringe any of the
asserted patents, we may be subject to substantial damages, which may include treble damages, and/or an injunction
that could cause us to materially modify certain features that we currently offer to consumers. We cannot predict
with any degree of certainty the outcome of the suit or determine the extent of any potential liability or damages.
Technology Development and Licensing L.L.C.
On January 22, 2009, Technology Development and Licensing L.L.C. (“TDL”) filed suit against us and EchoStar
in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois alleging infringement of United States
Patent No. Re. 35,952, which relates to certain favorite channel features. TDL is an entity that seeks to license an
acquired patent portfolio without itself practicing any of the claims recited therein. In July 2009, the Court granted
our motion to stay the case pending two reexamination petitions before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
We intend to vigorously defend this case. In the event that a court ultimately determines that we infringe the
asserted patent, we may be subject to substantial damages, which may include treble damages, and/or an injunction
that could cause us to materially modify certain features that we currently offer to consumers. We cannot predict
with any degree of certainty the outcome of the suit or determine the extent of any potential liability or damages.