BROADBAND iTV, INC. v. DISH Network, L.L.C. CAFC

The Federal Circuit has just received yet another mandamus petition challenging District Judge Alan D. Albright’s handling of a convenience transfer motion (2021-0148). On May 28, DISH sought the appellate court’s review of an April 20 decision declining to transfer a case filed by Broadband iTV, Inc. (6:19-cv-00716) to Colorado, which Judge Albright handed down nearly a year after the defendant filed its motion. The company’s petition notes the procedural impact of that delay and objects to the court’s analysis on a variety of substantive issues, many of which the Federal Circuit has previously flagged in reversals of other transfer rulings from Judge Albright.

Broadband iTV, Inc. (BBiTV) has added a Western District of Texas suit against Amazon (6:20-cv-00921) to the cases that it filed in that district against AT&T (DirecTV) (1:20-cv-00717, 6:19-cv-00714), and DISH Network (6:19-cv-00716) there in December 2019. Three of the six patents asserted against Amazon generally concern the playback of on-demand TV content over the Internet, while the other three are broadly directed to various aspects of an interactive program guide offering hierarchical navigation. BBiTV targets Amazon’s video-on-demand streaming products, including various Fire-branded set-top boxes and streaming devices, as well as the Amazon Prime Video app for iOS and Android.