WDTX Judge Moves Roku Patent Trial To August
`Amid Virus
`WDTX Judge Moves Roku Patent Trial To August Amid Virus -Law360
`Page 1 of 2
`https://www.law360.com/articles/1283085/print?section=ip
`6/18/2020
`Law360 (June 15, 2020, 5:52 PM EDT) -- U.S. District Judge Alan D. Albright on Monday
`postponed a patent jury trial involving Roku that was set for this month until August due to
`the COVID-19 pandemic, but noted that because of the ongoing public health emergency,
`he can't guarantee it will take place at that time.
`The jury trial in the case — where MV3 Partners LLC accuses Roku of infringing its
`streaming media patent — had been set to begin June 29 in the Western District of Texas,
`after being postponed from June 1. However, Judge Albright said Monday that holding the
`trial in June is no longer feasible, according to minutes of a phone conference in the court
`docket.
`"The court explained that we will not be able to hold the trial as it has been set due to the
`pandemic," the minute entry said. "The court suggests August 3, however he cannot
`guarantee that the pandemic will allow the trial to go forward then."
`The parties said they would confer with their clients about whether Aug. 3 or Aug. 10
`would be a better date. Both those dates are Mondays, and Judge Albright said he planned
`to hold jury selection on the Thursday or Friday before. The judge also canceled a final
`pretrial conference planned for this Thursday and said it would instead be held about 10
`days before the new trial date.
`The trial was initially set to begin on June 1. In early April, Roku asked the judge to
`reschedule, saying it was concerned that because its attorneys, who live in Virginia and
`Maryland, were under stay-at-home orders due to the pandemic, they might not be able to
`travel to Waco, Texas, for trial.
`Days later, Judge Albright — who touts his court as a place where patent cases go to trial
`quickly — rejected Roku's request, saying that "because trial is still several weeks away,
`it is premature to continue the case at this time."
`However, he said that he was willing to consider "all reasonable adjustments" to the
`schedule, noting that "preparing for a patent trial can be an arduous task in the best of
`times and is obviously much more difficult when mobility has been severely restricted by
`the government."
`On May 8, Western District of Texas Chief Judge Orlando Garcia ordered that all trials in
`the district scheduled through June 30 would have to be continued due to the pandemic,
`with new dates set by each presiding judge.
`Judge Albright responded the following week by rescheduling the Roku trial for June 29
`Portfolio Media. Inc. | 111 West 19th Street, 5th floor | New York, NY 10011 | www.law360.com
`Phone: +1 646 783 7100 | Fax: +1 646 783 7161 | customerservice@law360.com
`By Ryan Davis
`
`PETITIONERS
`Exhibit 1025, Page 1
`
`

`

`WDTX Judge Moves Roku Patent Trial To August Amid Virus -Law360
`Page 2 of 2
`https://www.law360.com/articles/1283085/print?section=ip
`6/18/2020
`before an eight-member jury. He said the date was "unavoidable" and that the "trial must
`go when set," according to minutes of the conference where he rescheduled the case.
`The courts in Texas have started conducting in-person jury trials during the pandemic,
`with the Eastern District of Texas conducting one last week in a slip-and-fall case. The
`judge told Law360 that when jurors were asked if they were concerned about the virus,
`"not one hand went up."
`MV3 filed suit in October 2018, alleging Roku TVs and some of the company's media
`players — the Roku Streaming Stick, Roku Ultra and Roku Express — infringe its patent on
`a system that streams media content from a mobile phone to larger displays such as
`televisions.
`Counsel for Roku and MV3 could not immediately be reached Monday for comment about
`the latest postponement.
`The patent-in-suit is U.S. Patent No. 8,863,223.
`MV3 is represented by Jonathan K. Waldrop, Darcy L. Jones, Marcus A. Barber, John W.
`Downing, Heather S. Kim, Jack Shaw, ThucMinh Nguyen and Paul G. Williams of Kasowitz
`Benson Torres LLP; J. Mark Mann, G. Blake Thompson and Andy Tindel of Mann Tindel &
`Thompson; and Craig D. Cherry of Haley & Olson PC.
`Roku is represented by Alexander J. Hadjis, Lisa M. Mandrusiak, W. Todd Baker,
`Christopher Ricciuti and Frank West of Oblon McClelland Maier & Neustadt LLP; Richard D.
`Milvenan of McGinnis Lochridge LLP; and David N. Deaconson of Pakis Giotes Page &
`Burleson PC.
`The case is MV3 Partners LLC v. Roku Inc., case number 6:18-cv-00308, in the U.S.
`District Court for the Western District of Texas.
`--Additional reporting by Lauren Berg, Britain Eakin, Dani Kass, Jack Queen and Daniel
`Siegal. Editing by Daniel King.
`All Content © 2003-2020, Portfolio Media, Inc.
`
`PETITIONERS
`Exhibit 1025, Page 2
`
`