Judge Dismisses Suit Brought by USA Video

A federal judge has dismissed a patent infringement lawsuit that a Connecticut software company brought against Movielink, an online movie distributor launched by five Hollywood studios.

U.S. District Judge Kent A. Jordan in Delaware ruled Friday that Movielink did not violate USA Video Interactive Corp.’s patent on the rapid transmission of video over the Internet. USA Video had sought damages and an injunction that could have shut down Movielink, which is owned by Viacom Inc.’s Paramount Pictures, Time Warner Inc.’s Warner Bros., General Electric Co.’s Universal Pictures, Sony Corp.’s Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.

USA Video President Edwin Molina said in a statement that the company was still mulling over its next move. He also said the court did not invalidate USA Video’s patent, so “other companies providing video-on-demand products and services may still be liable for infringing.”

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Jon Healey