Netflix, Soundcloud And Others Sued Over Offline Viewing Feature

Just when Netflix finally decided to bring the much-awaited offline viewing feature to its platform, a firm decided to slap the media streaming firm and other similar companies with a lawsuit over the feature that promotes downloadable content. However, it appears the suit is nothing more than a troll’s way of getting attention.

According to Ars Technica, the lawsuit that was slapped against Netflix, Soundcloud, Vimeo, Starz, Mubi and Studio 3 Partners — owned by Epix TV channel — is citing a dated patent just to make it appear that these streaming services are at fault for encouraging unauthorized content duplication. The plaintiff was identified to be Blackbird Technologies, a firm that is only known for purchasing patent rights and filing lawsuits using the same patents. The company does not even have products or assets or anything that would make it a significant brand.

Filed in Delaware federal court, the lawsuit against the streaming services is citing the ‘362 patent, which was made with optical disc content in mind. However, Blackbird Technologies is using the patent’s stipulation on “methods and systems of digital data duplication” to sue the aforesaid services because they all have the capacity to enable downloads of streamable content for offline viewing. It is important to note however that the cited patent has been used by certain entities in the past to squeeze settlement cash out of big companies. Whether Netflix and the rest wold cave in to Blackbird’s suit remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, recent reports have found enough clues suggesting that Facebook could be developing a dedicated video app for set top boxes. As per Fox Business, Facebook’s new venture could lead to the production of a streaming service that would rival Netflix and Amazon. However, the service could not be a direct competitor to established platforms because Facebook is looking to offer consumers with licensed original content and live broadcasts instead of movies and TV shows.