Despite a dismissal ruling earlier this week, Nielsen isn’t done with patent litigation against VideoAmp just yet.
The incumbent ratings giant on Wednesday filed a new lawsuit in a Delaware federal court against the competing measurement vendor over patent violations – just two days after the same court handed down a ruling dismissing an earlier case filed by Nielsen against VideoAmp over alleged violations related to different patents.
In its latest complaint, filed in the US Court for the District of Delaware, Nielsen alleged that VideoAmp’s out-of-home viewership measurement product infringes on one of its patents.
It follows the March 31 decision by Judge Richard G Andrews dismissing an earlier suit that alleged VideoAmp infringed on two patents issued to Nielsen that relate to methods around data models for audience viewing behavior from TV devices that are involved in providing information about media consumption such as what channel a device is being used for and how long.
However, the judge was not persuaded by Nielsen’s argument and found the claims applied to an abstract idea that is not patentable.
In the opinion issued by Judge Andrews on Monday, he determined that Nielsen’s claim “simply applies an abstract idea to a particular technological environment” and “fails to recite an inventive concept,” concluding the measurement giant’s asserted patent violations “are directed to unpatentable subject matter,” and therefore granted VideoAmp’s motion to dismiss the case.
But the win for VideoAmp was short lived and the earlier court decision has apparently not dissuaded Nielsen. The latest lawsuit makes claims against VideoAmp over alleged infringement of a patent issued to Nielsen in August 2024 related to OOH measurement, which Nielsen’s complaint said are directed to, among other things “systems, methods, and apparatuses for improving the field of audience measurement technology.”
Nielsen, for its part, says it’s long been an innovator for measurement technology and will defend its legal rights over intellectual property.
“Nielsen is the top innovator in audience measurement solutions. The patent that Nielsen is enforcing against VideoAmp today has a priority date from 2013 -- over a year before VideoAmp was founded. Nielsen welcomes competition in the marketplace but marketplace participants should use their own technology, not use Nielsen's hard-earned intellectual property without authorization,” Nielsen said in a statement provided to StreamTV Insider. “As is standard business practice, Nielsen will continue to vigorously defend our intellectual property rights to the fullest extent possible.”
Nielsen declined to comment specifically as to whether it intends to appeal the dismissal ruling in its first lawsuit against VideoAmp.
VideoAmp, meanwhile, suggested Nielsen is using its position and resources as the industry’s long-time measurement provider to hinder competition from newer, smaller vendors such as itself.
“The timing of this comes as no surprise on the heels of their prior claim being dismissed earlier this week. It is another desperate lawsuit from Nielsen that we believe is intended to stifle innovation and competition by burdening growing companies with distraction and a drain on resources,” VideoAmp said in a statement provided to StreamTV Insider. “These tactics will not slow us down, we will continue to deliver superior technology and offer optionality to our clients.”
The lawsuits come as an emerging group of measurement vendors cropped up in recent years, such as VideoAmp, iSpot and others - serving as alternatives and competitors to Nielsen.
But it’s also not the first time Nielsen has taken other measurement players to court over alleged patent violations. As other media outlets have noted, the latest brings the number of Nielsen patent infringement lawsuit complaints against rivals to 10 over the past few years.
Others that have come under legal fire from Nielsen include panel measurement providers HyphaMetrics and TVision.
In the patent infringement suit filed against TVision in 2022, the measurement vendor filed a counter suit against Nielsen, claiming antitrust violations.
That case is still ongoing and on March 24 the U.S. District Court for Delaware the court denied Nielsen’s motion seeking to pause discovery on TVision’s antitrust counterclaims until its pending motion to dismiss was resolved.