DCT
2:25-cv-01067
Mychoice LLC v. Taiv Inc
Key Events
Complaint
I. Executive Summary and Procedural Information
- Parties & Counsel:
- Plaintiff: MyChoice, LLC (Massachusetts) and BarBoards, LLC (Texas)
- Defendant: Taiv, Inc. (Manitoba, Canada)
- Plaintiff’s Counsel: Perkins Coie LLP
- Case Identification: 2:25-cv-01067, E.D. Tex., 10/24/2025
- Venue Allegations: Venue is asserted on the basis that Defendant is a foreign corporation, making venue proper in any judicial district, and on allegations that acts of infringement occurred within the Eastern District of Texas.
- Core Dispute: Plaintiffs allege that Defendant’s "New Taiv System," which provides contextual, real-time advertisement replacement during live television broadcasts in commercial venues, infringes a patent related to enhancing the video viewing experience through custom content curation.
- Technical Context: The technology at issue involves systems that automatically detect specific moments in a live video stream, such as commercial breaks during sporting events, and replace them with alternative content, such as targeted advertisements based on in-game events.
- Key Procedural History: This action is related to a prior pending case filed in November 2023 by MyChoice against Taiv in the same district, asserting the same patent against an "Original Taiv System." The current complaint alleges that Taiv developed the newly accused "New Taiv System" after the prior suit was filed and after receiving notice of the patent-in-suit as early as June 2022. The complaint also references the patent's prosecution history, noting that the USPTO found certain claim limitations concerning the dynamic configuration of content attributes to be novel over the prior art.
Case Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2017-06-22 | U.S. Patent No. 10,708,658 Priority Date |
| 2020-07-07 | U.S. Patent No. 10,708,658 Issue Date |
| 2022-06-17 | Date of alleged pre-suit notice to Defendant via LinkedIn |
| 2023-11-02 | Filing date of prior litigation involving same patent and parties |
| 2025-09-24 | Date of Defendant's blog post announcing the "New Taiv System" |
| 2025-10-24 | Complaint Filing Date |
II. Technology and Patent(s)-in-Suit Analysis
U.S. Patent No. 10,708,658 - "Video Viewing Experience Enhanced Through Custom Curation"
- Patent Identification: U.S. Patent No. 10,708,658, "Video Viewing Experience Enhanced Through Custom Curation," issued July 7, 2020 (’658 Patent).
The Invention Explained
- Problem Addressed: The patent's background describes the inefficiency of prior art methods for replacing undesirable content in live video streams. Manual channel surfing is imprecise for determining when undesirable content (like a commercial break) has ended, and time-shifting methods like DVRs prevent real-time viewing (’658 Patent, col. 1:22-41).
- The Patented Solution: The invention is a system where a "monitoring station" automatically detects undesirable content in a first media stream in real-time. Based on a database of user preferences and content attributes, it selects appropriate substitute content and sends a trigger signal to an output device, causing it to switch to a second media stream with the substitute content. The system then monitors the first stream for the end of the undesirable content and sends a second trigger signal to switch back automatically (’658 Patent, Abstract; col. 2:54-65).
- Technical Importance: The described technology enables an automated, personalized, and real-time content substitution experience for viewers of live media, avoiding the delays and manual effort required by previous solutions (Compl. ¶21).
Key Claims at a Glance
- The complaint asserts independent claim 1 and dependent claims 2-14 (Compl. ¶44).
- Independent Claim 1 of the ’658 Patent recites a method with the following essential elements:
- Detecting in real-time undesirable content in a first media stream, where the content corresponds to a user preference stored in a database.
- Selecting substitute content that has attributes associated with both the primary content and user preferences.
- Transmitting a first trigger signal to an output device to switch to a second media stream containing the substitute content.
- Concurrently, configuring and associating an "undesirable content attribute" with the first media stream in the database.
- After the switch, monitoring the first media stream for an end to the undesirable content.
- Upon detecting the end, transmitting a second trigger signal to the output device.
- Concurrently, "changing" the undesirable content attribute in the database.
- Switching the output device back from the second media stream to the first in response to the second trigger signal.
III. The Accused Instrumentality
Product Identification
- The "New Taiv System," which integrates technology from a partnership with Iris TV (Compl. ¶35).
Functionality and Market Context
- The New Taiv System is marketed to bars, restaurants, and other commercial venues to replace standard television commercials during live events, particularly sports, with targeted advertising (Compl. ¶¶ 34, 40). The system is alleged to perform "Live Game Recognition" to identify on-screen content in real-time and enables "scene-level targeting," allowing advertisers to place ads based on specific in-game events such as touchdowns, score changes, or penalties (Compl. ¶¶ 37, 40). An infographic in the complaint details targeting options such as "Home Team Lead" or "Power Play" (Compl. p. 13). The system is described as ingesting "50+ sports signals" and mapping them to "emotional states and audience profiles" to facilitate dynamic, programmatic ad buys (Compl. ¶38).
IV. Analysis of Infringement Allegations
’658 Patent Infringement Allegations
| Claim Element (from Independent Claim 1) | Alleged Infringing Functionality | Complaint Citation | Patent Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| detecting in real-time... the undesirable content in the first media stream, wherein the undesirable content corresponds to a user preference indicating undesirability... stored in a system database | The New Taiv System's "AI algorithm automatically detects TV commercials in real time" and allows users (e.g., businesses) to block specific industries or advertisers via a "Blacklisting" feature, which represents a user preference indicating undesirability. | ¶¶ 55, 57-58 | col. 3:40-44 |
| selecting substitute content... wherein the substitute content has... attributes associated with the primary content attribute... and... user preference indicating desirability | The system selects ads (substitute content) to align with "key game moments like touchdowns or power plays" (primary content attributes) and targets "premium audiences" in categories like Alcohol or Gaming (user preferences). A screenshot from Defendant’s marketing materials illustrates this "scene-level targeting" capability (Compl. p. 13). | ¶56 | col. 6:1-6 |
| further responsive to detecting in real-time the undesirable content... configuring, in the system database, an undesirable content attribute and associating the undesirable content attribute with the first media stream | The system's "Live Game Recognition" identifies what is on screen and enables real-time ad placement, which allegedly involves configuring a database with attributes (e.g., "commercial break") that correspond to the undesirable content. | ¶¶ 58, 40 | col. 6:28-36 |
| after transmitting the first trigger signal, monitoring... the first media stream for an end to the undesirable content | The system is alleged to monitor the underlying broadcast to determine when the commercial break ends in order to return to the live game action. A marketing video screenshot states, "We return to the game right when the action resumes" (Compl. p. 35). | ¶60 | col. 4:26-30 |
| responsive to detecting the end to the undesirable content... transmitting... a second trigger signal to the output device | Upon detecting the end of the commercial break, the system allegedly transmits a signal to switch the display from the substitute ad back to the live game broadcast. | ¶61 | col. 4:30-33 |
| further responsive to detecting the end... changing, in the system database, the undesirable content attribute associated with the first media stream | Upon returning to the live game, the system allegedly changes the status of the "undesirable content attribute" in its database (e.g., from "commercial break active" to "commercial break inactive"). | ¶62 | col. 6:30-36 |
Identified Points of Contention
- Scope Questions: A central question may be whether an advertiser's preference to target a specific in-game moment (e.g., a scoring play) for ad insertion aligns with the claim term "user preference indicating undesirability" of the primary content (the commercial break). The patent's examples focus more on the end-viewer's preferences to avoid certain content types, such as halftime shows (’658 Patent, col. 6:46-49).
- Technical Questions: The complaint alleges the system dynamically configures and changes an "undesirable content attribute." A key factual question will be what evidence demonstrates that the accused system performs this specific database operation, as opposed to simply reacting to start-and-end triggers for a commercial break.
V. Key Claim Terms for Construction
The Term: "undesirable content attribute"
- Context and Importance: This term is critical because the claim requires the system to not only detect undesirable content but also to "configure" and later "change" an associated attribute in a database. The patentability of the invention was allegedly based in part on this dynamic attribute management (Compl. ¶26). The dispute may focus on whether the "scene-level" signals used by Taiv (e.g., "score change," "red zone drive") function as the claimed "undesirable content attribute" that is configured and changed.
- Intrinsic Evidence for Interpretation:
- Evidence for a Broader Interpretation: The specification provides examples of attributes that are temporal and situational, such as "halftime" or "blowout" (’658 Patent, col. 6:30-31), which suggests the term could cover any data tag indicating a specific state of the media stream that triggers replacement.
- Evidence for a Narrower Interpretation: The consistent framing of the invention around content a viewer "does not desire to watch" (’658 Patent, col. 3:59-60) could support an interpretation that the attribute must relate to a negative quality defined by the end-viewer, rather than a neutral, advertiser-defined targeting opportunity.
The Term: "user preference"
- Context and Importance: The identity of the "user" is central to the infringement analysis. The complaint alleges that "advertiser employees" input preferences (Compl. ¶37). The case may depend on whether the term "user" can be construed to include an advertiser using the system, or if it is limited to the end-viewer or the venue owner operating the display.
- Intrinsic Evidence for Interpretation:
- Evidence for a Broader Interpretation: The patent does not explicitly limit who the "user" is. The specification refers generally to "a specific user" and preferences that can be "directly provided by the user, for example in an initial setup stage," which could arguably include an advertiser setting up a campaign (’658 Patent, col. 3:42-45).
- Evidence for a Narrower Interpretation: The patent's title and overall description focus on enhancing the "video viewing experience" for the person watching the display (’658 Patent, col. 1:15-20). The figures and examples consistently depict preferences from the perspective of the end-viewer (e.g., Tom, Dick, and Harry in FIG. 4), suggesting the "user" is the consumer of the content.
VI. Other Allegations
- Indirect Infringement: The complaint alleges inducement by claiming Taiv provides instruction materials and encourages its venue partners and advertiser customers to use the New Taiv System in a manner that directly infringes (Compl. ¶¶ 46-48). It further alleges contributory infringement, asserting the system is especially adapted for this use and is not a staple article of commerce (Compl. ¶49).
- Willful Infringement: Willfulness is alleged based on Taiv's purported knowledge of the ’658 Patent since at least a June 17, 2022 LinkedIn communication from the inventor to Taiv's CEO, and also from the filing of the prior lawsuit in November 2023, which asserted the same patent (Compl. ¶¶ 32, 50, 65).
VII. Analyst’s Conclusion: Key Questions for the Case
- A core issue will be one of definitional scope: can the term "user preference indicating undesirability," which is described in the patent from the perspective of an end-viewer avoiding content, be construed to cover an advertiser's preference for targeting a specific moment within a commercial break for ad insertion?
- A second key question will be one of technical mapping: does the accused system's use of real-time, in-game event triggers (e.g., "power play," "home team lead") meet the specific claim limitations requiring the system to "configure" and subsequently "change" an "undesirable content attribute" within a database, or is there a mismatch in the claimed method and the actual operation of the accused technology?
- A third dispositive question will concern claim construction: does the identity of the "user" whose preferences are stored and acted upon extend to third-party advertisers, or is it limited to the entity controlling the final display (the venue) or the ultimate consumer of the media (the patron)? The answer may determine whether the accused system's functionality falls within the scope of the claims.