Alphonso Prevails in Patent Dispute Over Samba TV; Market Practices Validated in Federal Court

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Alphonso Inc., recently rebranded as LG Ads, today announced it has prevailed in a patent dispute with Samba TV, regarding the use of TV audience data for targeting TV viewers on digital devices. The outcome of this patent dispute is a validation of Alphonso’s practices in the market.

A suit filed by Samba TV against Alphonso in November 2015, asserted that Alphonso infringed upon Samba’s patent for “Targeting with Television Audience Data Across Multiple Screens.” In December 2018 the United States District Court for Northern District of California ruled that Alphonso did not infringe on this patent.

On appeal, yesterday the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit determined that the case should have been dismissed before ever reaching the infringement arguments, because the Samba patent is invalid.

Ashish Chordia, chief executive officer of Alphonso, said, “With these decisions, our innovative practices for audience-data-driven TV retargeting have been validated across the board, just as we anticipated. We are pleased that the District Court agreed that we did not infringe on any patents. And we appreciate the Federal Circuit's careful analysis invalidating Samba's patent altogether."

About Alphonso and LG Ads

Alphonso is a leader in advanced systems for TV audience engagement, data, and measurement. In December 2020, LG Electronics acquired a majority stake in Alphonso, to form LG Ads.

LG Ads is a leader in helping brands find hard-to-get unduplicated reach at optimal frequency across the fragmented TV landscape and maximize return on ad spend. The company brings together LG’s years of experience in delivering premium home entertainment products to consumers worldwide, with big TV audience data and Video AI designed to connect brands with audiences across all screens and understand resulting business outcomes. Our current OEM partners include LG, Sharp, Hisense, Toshiba, Seiki, Skyworth, Tivo, and Sling Media, with over 10 more OEMs committed to joining us in 2021. We are growing fast globally, and we are hiring! Contact us at [e-mail].