Netflix Revives Challenge to DivX’s Trick-Play Streaming Patent

Netflix Inc. can have another shot at convincing a patent tribunal that a technology allowing streaming media viewers to jump to desired locations without having to watch the entire video is so obvious that it is unpatentable, the Federal Circuit ruled.

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said the Patent Trial and Appeal Board was “unduly strict” in inter partes review of Netflix’s attack on DivX LLC’s patent for an Audio Video Interleave file structure that indexes multimedia streaming products. In an opinion released Monday, the appeals court said the PTAB “abused its discretion” in determining Netflix ...