Business Wire: International Trade Commission Bans Import and Sale of Roku Products
COTTSDALE, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Universal Electronics Inc. (“UEI”) (NASDAQ: UEIC), the global leader in wireless universal control solutions for home entertainment and smart home devices, today announced that the United States International Trade Commission (“ITC” or the “Commission”) publicly issued its favorable final determination in UEI’s patent infringement case against Roku, Inc. (“Roku”), concluding several Roku products infringe a UEI patent and barring the importation and sale of those products. The orders will become final on January 9, 2022, following the expiration of a Presidential review period.
“We brought this action to protect our highly innovative intellectual property from unauthorized use by Roku, and we are gratified that the ITC recognized Roku’s infringement and ordered it halted,” said Richard A. Firehammer, Jr. UEI’s SVP & General Counsel. “Now that the full Commission opinion is publicly available, UEI’s clear and decisive victory is plain for all to see. The Commission’s ban on Roku imports and sales is an important step in the process of preventing Roku from continuing its unlawful use of UEI technology. Even now, we believe that Roku continues to infringe the very patent it was found to infringe despite its attempts to ‘design around’ its infringement with recent software updates. These updates coincide with degraded Roku product performance, as evidenced by recent media reports and consumer outcry. We look forward to working with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to ensure the Commission’s orders banning imports of infringing Roku products are appropriately enforced. UEI will continue to take all actions necessary to put an end to Roku’s unlawful activities.”
Read the full press release at: Business Wire
Roku's Response
Per Roku: Roku says there is not much too this. “There have been no new developments in this case," says Roku's Joe Hollinger. "On November 10, 2021, the ITC’s Final Determination fully absolved Roku from liability in this proceeding by confirming the Administrative Law Judge’s Initial Determination findings that two of the three patents asserted by UEI are invalid and that Roku has already successfully implemented technical design changes that eliminate any infringement of the one remaining UEI patent. Based on the ITC’s ruling, we do not anticipate any disruption in Roku’s ability to continue to import products.”
Roku dodged another close one and will continue selling their line of popular media streamers in many markets. They remain one of today's hottest media streamers in the number of hours streamed and total units sold.
If you want to get add some Roku cheer this holiday, be sure to check out all their currently discounted models at the Roku store.
