NEW YORK – TV music distributor Music Choice today filed a Complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas against Montreal’s Stingray Digital Group for patent infringement.
According to a Music Choice press release issued Monday afternoon, the complaint “alleges that Stingray’s digital music service infringes four Music Choice patents, including patents that cover Music Choice’s onscreen technology that includes music/song-related visuals and facts. Music Choice is seeking an injunction barring Stingray from using patented Music Choice technology in its products and services and unspecified damages.”
Stingray has carriage all over the world of its various channels from straight music to Karaoke TV and Concert TV, including on AT&T’s U-verse and Comcast.
Dave Del Beccaro, president and CEO of Music Choice said in the release: “We have gone through great measures to secure patents for our intellectual property and feel compelled to take legal action to protect our business investment. Stingray must compete fairly in the marketplace without using Music Choice’s proprietary, patented technology in blatant violation of our intellectual property rights. While competition and innovation in our industry will undoubtedly provide benefits to our customers, the competition must be fair and the innovation original. Stingray’s unauthorized and infringing use of technology developed and patented by Music Choice is detrimental, not only to Music Choice, but to our customers and the industry as a whole.”
According to a story in Multichannel News, Music Choice believes Stingray got access to its technology during the Montreal company’s attempted purchase of the U.S. company in 2015 and then leveraged what it learned to build its business (and also take some U.S. clients away). Stingray’s lawyer told the news outlet that the company built its own technology and that the lawsuit was likely brought because the Canadian company is winning business away from Music Choice.
Music Choice currently has over 47 million monthly listeners and is available nationwide through Optimum, Charter Communications, Xfinity, Cox Communications, Verizon FiOS and many more, says the release. Stingray says it now reaches an estimated 400 million Pay-TV subscribers (or households) in 152 countries.
