Ropes & Gray Secures Favorable Settlement in Patent Infringement Suit for Roku

A Ropes & Gray team secured a favorable settlement of a patent infringement suit against client Roku in the District of Delaware brought by litigious non-practicing entity—Blue Spike LLC.  Blue Spike initially filed suit against Roku in the Eastern District of Texas in February 2017, asserting seven patents directed to secure transactions. After Blue Spike agreed to drop two of the patents from suit, Ropes and Gray successfully dismissed the Eastern District of Texas action for improper venue. Blue Spike subsequently filed a second suit against Roku in Delaware, asserting the same five patents and, on the same day, filed a motion with the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) to transfer and consolidate this action and others in the Eastern District of Texas. Roku, in coordination with 10 other defendants, filed a joint brief in opposition to centralization, and the JPML denied Blue Spike’s motion. 

In Delaware, Roku filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings to dismiss each of Blue Spike’s claims for failure to state a claim and a cross-motion to dismiss for lack of standing with prejudice. During the oral argument on the cross-motions to dismiss for lack of standing, Judge Stark requested briefing on his authority to award fees or other sanctions to Roku for Blue Spike’s misconduct regarding patent ownership. Ropes & Gray submitted a letter brief regarding potential sanctions and fees against Blue Spike. The parties subsequently reached a favorable settlement.

The Ropes & Gray team included IP litigation partner Andrew Thomases (Silicon Valley) and IP litigation counsel Sam Brenner (Boston).