Dolby sues Roku over technology in streaming software

Dolby Laboratories sued streaming-video company Roku in California federal court on Thursday, accusing Roku of breaking a license and infringing its patents and copyrights by integrating Dolby’s technology into its operating system Roku OS.

San Francisco-based Dolby said in the lawsuit that Roku secretly distributed millions of copies of Dolby’s audio and imaging software without complying with the terms of the companies’ agreement.

Dolby said Roku misused its technology to make its products “more attractive to potential customers” and increase its profits at Dolby’s expense. The lawsuit said that Roku’s streaming platform accounted for nearly $3 billion of its annual revenue in 2023.

Spokespeople for Roku did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the complaint. An attorney for Dolby said the company had no comment.

Dolby said that the companies signed a license agreement in 2015 solely for Roku to test Dolby software’s interoperability with Roku’s systems. The complaint said the companies agreed in 2016 that Roku could distribute Dolby’s software under certain conditions, including after paying royalties and complying with Dolby’s quality testing and reporting requirements.

The lawsuit said that Roku secretly incorporated Dolby’s intellectual property in its software at least between 2016 and 2020, lied to Dolby about its use of the technology and refused to cooperate with an audit.

Dolby asked the court for an unspecified amount of monetary damages and an order blocking Roku’s alleged misconduct.

The case is Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corp v. Roku Inc, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, No. 3:24-cv-04660.

For Dolby: Charles Correll, Sam Diamant, Shane Brun and Bruce Baber of King & Spalding

For Roku: attorney information not yet available Reuters