The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) has cancelled an on-demand video downloading patent (7,269,854) asserted against Hulu (4:15-cv-00596), Netflix (4:15-cv-00597), Spotify (4:15-cv-00593), and IAC (Vimeo) (4:15-cv-00592) by iMTX Strategic, LLC (iMTX). In an October 11 final decision issued in a covered business method (CBM) review filed by those four defendants in June 2015 (CBM2015-00147), the PTAB ruled that all 23 claims from the ‘854 patent are invalid as obvious over various combinations of prior art: a former DEC patent now held by HP (5,671,225) and a 1996 article describing a secure web media player, asserted as a pair in each invalidity ground along with each of three other references in turn.

A campaign by iMTX Strategic has expanded to include Apple, HBO, Hulu, Netflix, Verizon, and Vudu. The NPE filed six suits this week alleging infringement of a patent related to delivering digital media files through the Internet to a TV or audio device (7,269,854). The accused products are defendants’ on-demand and streaming video and music services. In the past six months iMTX has asserted ‘854 in similar lawsuits against Rhapsody, Spotify, and Vimeo.  The patent was assigned to Open Entertainment in 1999 and acquired by iMTX in April 2010. Selwyn Simmons, a co-inventor of the patent, is the agent for service of process for both Open Entertainment and iMTX. 4/25, Delaware District Court, 1:14cv00546, 1:14cv0057 1:14cv00548, 1:14cv00549, 1:14cv00550, 1:14cv00551

Vimeo, a subsidiary of IAC, is the first defendant sued by new NPE, iMTX Strategic. The patent-in-suit relates to delivering media files via the Internet to a television or audio device (7,269,854). The complaint alleges that Vimeo’s video sharing website infringes the asserted patent. iMTX acquired the patent-in-suit from its inventor, Selwyn Simmons, in 2010 and Simmons is also listed as the registered agent for the company. 11/19, District of Delaware, 1:13cv01940