DDB Technologies, L.L.C. sued NHL Interactive CyberEnterprises, LLC; NHL Enterprises, L.P.; and NHL Enterprises Inc. late last month claiming the entities infringed upon its many patented technologies that are being utilized in the interactive sports broadcasting market.
Since reaching a settlement with MLB Advanced Media, L.P., which became a licensee, DDB has filed six lawsuits against divisions of the major sporting leagues and sporting news content providers. The six outstanding lawsuits are against ESPN, the NFL, Yahoo!, the NBA, AOL, and the NHL. Like the other suits, the NHL was sued in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas. DDB is based in Austin, which is a division of that court.
The suit against ESPN this spring got everyone’s attention of the sports media industry.
“ESPN has known about the DDB patents for many years. It is unfortunate that we had to initiate litigation against them, but hopefully they will do the right thing and take a license to these innovative technologies,” Dr. David Barstow, DDB’s President and Founder and lead inventor of the DDB patents, said at the time.
Michael McLaughlin, of IPinvestments Group, which serves as the licensing agent for DDB, added that “ESPN is clearly a large player in the sports interactive media and Internet market. We believe that a license to the DDB Data Driven Portfolio will give ESPN the tools and protection needed to continue to be a leader in this competitive marketplace. The DDB Licensing Program has clear momentum and we expect numerous additional licensees in the near future.”
DDB is represented by McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP (Chicago, IL) and Winstead PC (Austin, TX).
The DDB patent portfolio facilitates technologies, such as:
•Live simulation of a sporting event
•Play-by-play text, graphics, and animation
•Generating information about the state of the game
“We started developing and patenting these technologies in the 1980s and we are still today adding claims to the DDB Data Driven Portfolio,” said Barstow. He added that the lawsuits against “several large sporting news companies and major sporting leagues” are only being undertaken because the defendants are “exploiting DDB’s patented technologies without a license to do so.”
