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 Post Posted: Sat Oct 30, 2010 12:01 am 
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Dish Network Hit With Patent Infringement Suit
Suomen Colorize Oy v. Dish Network

c/p buddyjh


DISH Network and EchoStar provide Dish Network's subscribers services referred to as Dish TV and Dishonline (collectively referred to as "DISH Services"), and DISH Services include broadcast satellite television, online television, television on demand via both broadcast satellite and online, Slingbox™-enabled television, an interactive electronic programming guide interface via an interface box and online via the internet, and other online and broadcast services in Florida, including, without limitation, the Middle District of Florida, giving rise to this cause of action against Dish Network and EchoStar for patent infringement of the '398 Patent.


The infringing Dish Services are provided to DISH Network's subscribers residing in Florida including, without limitation, the Middle District of Florida. Upon information and belief, DISH Network and/or its agents install satellite broadcast receivers and set top boxes in homes and businesses located in Florida including, without limitation, the Middle District of Florida. DISH Network and EchoStar do business in Florida including, without limitation, the Middle District of Florida, subjecting DISH Network and EchoStar to personal jurisdiction in the Middle District of Florida.



October 2,2007, after examination of the '398 patent, the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued U.s. Pat. No. 7,277,398, entitled "METHOD AND TERMINAL FOR PROVIDING SERVICES IN TELECOMMUNICATION NETWORK," (also referred to herein as the '398 patent), and Suomen Colorize Oy is the owner of the '398 patent by assignment, and a copy of the '398 patent is attached to this Complaint as Exhibit A. The '398 Patent was filed as an application under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) on July 15, 1998 as PCT/FI98/00598, and perfected priority to Finnish patent application no. 973,033, which was filed on July 17, 1997, and the '398 Patent was assigned U.S. Pat. AppL. No. 09/462,761 for prosecution of the pending claims before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

The '398 Patent describes a method and a system for using a terminal and one or more telecommunications networks for providing services, wherein the selection data of a service is formed by using identification and control data of the services that is located in multiplexed frames used for transmitting the services to subscribers over the one or more telecommunications networks; and the method is tied to a particular machine, the terminal, which is used for displaying the selection data for the subscriber to select services provided over the one or more telecommunications networks; and PCT/FI98/00598 was published on February 11,1999, which publication of PCT/FI98/00598 is attached as Exhibit B.

The field of the invention of the' 3 98 Patent, as described in column 1, lines 8-18, of the '398 Patent relates to providing a customer with services transmitted in multiplexed form via a terminal connected to a communications network and selection data for selecting available services to be received by a terminal, such as a television or a computer.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office issued claims 1-23, including independent claims 1, 13, 18,20 and 21 and claims 2-12, 14-17, 19 and 22-23, depending, directly or indirectly, from one ofthe independent claims. 20. Claim 1 recites a method for providing a customer with service information via a terminal connected to a telecommunication network, the method comprising: multiplexing a . plurality of service data in a frame format to form a service multiplex for service transmission, whereby identification and control data of the service data are located in at least one part of the multiplexed frames to be transmitted with the respective service data; forming selection data for the selection of the service data on the basis of the identification and control data located in the service multiplex; transmitting the selection data separately, without the actual service data of the service multiplex, to the customer terminal for displaying the selection data; and in response to the user selecting a service displayed on a display unit, identifying the selected service on the basis of said identification and control data associated with the selected service and transmitted in multiplexed fioames, and providing the customer with the indentified service from the service multiplex.

Examples of a terminal are described in column 1, lines 8-18, of the '398 Patent and include, without limitation, a television or a computer. The process of claim 1 is a patentable process tied to a particular machine, the terminal connected to a telecommunication network. Claim 2 depends from claim 1 and adds the following lilTIitation: ".. . further comprising transmitting the selection data to the customer terminal via a different network than the service multiplex is transmitted."

Under the doctrine of claim differentiation, claim 1 is broader than claim 2; therefore, claim 1 is not limited to "transmitting the selection data to the customer terminal via a different network than the service multiplex is transmitted," and the scope of claim 1 includes transmitting the selection data separately, without the actual service data of the service multiplex, via the same network as the service multiplex is transmitted or via a different network than the service multiplex is transmitted.

Claim 3 depends from claim 1 and adds the following limitation: ".. . further comprising creating a service directory from said identification and control data, which service directory comprises the selection data and by which the services are presented on a display unit." Under the doctrine of claim differentiation, claim 1 is broader than claim 3; therefore, claim 1 is not limited to "creating a service directory from said identification and control data, which service directory comprises the selection data and by which the services are presented on a display unit."

Claim 1 0 depends from claim 1 and adds the following limitation: "... further comprising forming automatically the selectin ( sic) data for selection of the service on the basis of the identification and control data located in the service multiplex," and "selectin" data must be interpreted to mean selection data based on the face of the patent in claim 1 0, as an obvious typographical error. 28. Under the doctrine of claim differentiation, the scope of claim 1 is broader than the limitation of claim 1 0; therefore, claim 1 is not limited to "forming automatically the selection data for selection of the service on the basis of the identification and control data located in the service multiplex," and the step of "forming the selection data" in claim 1 includes, within its scope, automatically forming and not automatically forming the selection data.




Claim 11 depends from claim 1 and adds the following limitation: "... further comprising presenting the services on the display unit in a form of an icon."

Under the doctrine of claim differentiation, the scope of claim 1 is not limited to "... presenting the services on the display unit in a form of an icon;" therefore, the scope of claim 1 includes presenting the services on the display unit in the form of an icon or in a form other than an icon.

Upon information and belief, Dish Network has infringed and continues to infringe one or more claims of the '398 Patent by providing its Dish Services to 14 million subscribers nationwide and making, using, selling or offering for sale certain services and products marketed under its DISH Network brand.

The services of Dish Network and EchoStar (hereinafter "Dish Services") have infringed one or more of the claims of the '398 Patent, when Dish Network and EchoStar were a single entity, and have infringed and continue to infringe one or more claims of the '398 Patent now that Dish Network and EchoStar have adopted a new corporate structure.

Dish Services use a satellite dish, which is located at subscribers' locations, and television signals are sent over a coaxial connection to the set top box at each subscribers' location that accepts both the television signals, in a standard format, and other formatted electronic programming guide data, widgets, setups and/or video on demand data, separately from the television signals, over the same coaxial connection and/or using a separate telephone line and/or utilizing the internet coupled to subscribers' computers and/or Slingbox™ enabled set top boxes.

Dish Services utilize a telephone line from the set top box allowing subscribers to communicate over the network for selecting pay-per-view programming and the like.



Upon information and belief, the infringement, inducement of infringement and contributory infringement of Dish Network and/or EchoStar have been and continue to be willful.

As a result of the actions of Dish Network and/or EchoStar, Suomen Colorize has suffered and continues to suffer substantial injury, including irreparable injury, and such actions of the defendants will result in damages to Suomen Colorize, including, without limitation, the incorporation of Plaintiffs methods into standards and de facto standards, without consultation with or compensation for the Plaintiff, unless Dish Network and EchoStar are enjoined by this Court.



Suomen Colorize Oy v. Dish Network L.L.C. et a

Plaintiff: Suomen Colorize Oy
Defendants: Dish Network L.L.C. and Echostar Satellite, L.L.C.
Case Number: 8:2010cv02406
Filed: October 26, 2010
Court: Florida Middle District Court
Office: Tampa Office
County: XX Outside US
Presiding Judge: Virginia M. Hernandez Covington
Referring Judge: Mark A. Pizzo
Nature of Suit: Intellectual Property - Patent
Cause: 28:1338 Jurisdiction: Federal Question Jury Demanded By: Plaintiff


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