Dish Network 2013 Annual Report Download - page 60

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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 us and EchoStar 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. No trial date is currently 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 website and call center management systems infringe these patents. Pragmatus has brought
similar complaints against more than 40 other companies, including Comcast Corporation, AT&T Inc., Sprint
Spectrum LP dba Sprint PCS, Frontier Communications Corp., Bright House Networks L.L.C., United Parcel
Services Inc., FedEx Corporation, General Motors Company and Ford Motor Company. Pragmatus is an entity that
seeks to license an acquired patent portfolio without itself practicing any of the claims recited therein. On March 5,
2013, Pragmatus voluntarily dismissed with prejudice all claims in the action relating to allegedly infringing features
provided by certain of our vendors. Pragmatus also voluntarily dismissed without prejudice all remaining claims in
the action.
Premier International Associates, LLC
On August 3, 2012, Premier International Associates, LLC (“Premier International”) 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 International
is an entity that seeks to license an acquired patent portfolio without itself practicing any of the claims recited
therein. On March 27, 2013, Premier International dismissed the action against us and the EchoStar entities with
prejudice, pursuant to a settlement under which we and the EchoStar entities made an immaterial payment in
exchange for a license to certain patents and patent applications.
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 Seventh Amended Complaint,
filed on March 22, 2013, Preservation Technologies also names Netflix, Inc., Hulu, LLC, AT&T Services, Inc.,
Cox Communications, Inc., Disney Online, American Broadcasting Companies, Inc., Yahoo! Inc., Wal-Mart
Stores, Inc., Vudu, Inc. and ESPN Internet Ventures 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 United States 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.