Intertainer, a Web 1.0-era video-on-demand provider turned patent litigator, has set its sights on its latest courtroom target, filing suit in Los Angeles Tuesday against Viacom.
The complaint, which alleges the media conglomerate transgresses on its technology patents while streaming TV shows on such platforms as MTV.com and Nick.com, is only the latest in a long series of legal action put forth by Intertainer, which ceased operations as a digital programmer all the way back in 2002.
Also read: Defunct online VOD company Intertainer sues Apple, Google and Napster over patent
Last year, Intertainer sued Hulu for allegedly violating the same patent (No. 7,870,592) — a suit the streaming video company unsuccessfully tried to get tossed out of court in January.
In 2007, Intertainer sued AppleI, Google and Napster for patent infringement, with all three defendants also unable to get dismissals and and having to settle.
And in 2002, as it was shuttering operations, Intertainer filed an anti-trust complaint against what were then corporately known as AOL Time Warner and Vivendi Universal, along with Sony, alleging that the entertainment conglomerates conspired to fix prices for online movie distribution in order to drive Intertainer out of business and start their own online services.
Those cases were eventually settled, too.
Lawyers for Intertainer did not respond to paidContent’s request for comment. Viacom officials had no statement.
