Straight Path Campaign Shifts from VoIP and Consumer Electronics to Video Streaming

Netflix was hit by Straight Path IP Group’s campaign that has previously targeted VoIP products, online chat systems, smartphones, tablets, computers, gaming devices, Blu-ray players, televisions, and set-top boxes. Straight Path’s complaint (6:14-cv-00405) accuses Netflix’s servers, software, and online video streaming service of infringing five patents related to point-to-point communication over a computer network or the Internet (6,009,469, 6,108,704, 6,131,121, 6,513,066, 6,701,365). The patents-in-suit were previously asserted by Net2Phone in 2006 against eBay and its then-subsidiary, Skype. During litigation, all five patents were re-examined; in 2010 the USPTO cancelled claim 8 of ‘469 and required amendments to certain claims of ‘469, ‘704, and ‘121. The case against eBay and Skype settled following nearly four years of litigation.