DISH Network Wins Federal Circuit Appeal, Eliminating $469M Patent Verdict

2 minute read | May.29.2026

DISH Network has secured a complete victory before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, bringing an end to a more than decade-long patent dispute and wiping out a $469 million adverse jury verdict.

American Lawyer recognized the win in its Litigators of the Week column.

THE CASE

ClearPlay, a Utah-based company that purported to have invented a technology for filtering adult content from TV shows and movies, sued DISH in 2014, alleging that DISH’s popular and critically praised Hopper DVR – which allows customers to skip commercials in primetime TV recordings – infringed ClearPlay’s content-filtering patents.
ClearPlay sought massive damages, and after a decade of litigation, a jury awarded ClearPlay $469 million. Following the verdict, DISH successfully convinced Utah U.S. District Judge David Nuffer in March 2023 to overturn the judgment as a matter of law – the first time in his decades on the bench to do so.

THE DECISION

In its appeal to the Federal Circuit, DISH overcame a highly deferential standard of review to demonstrate that ClearPlay had no right to any damages for its immaterial patent claims.
The Federal Circuit agreed with DISH in every relevant respect, issuing a 10-page decision on May 26, 2026 that fully grasped the limited nature of ClearPlay's patent claims, rejected ClearPlay's argument that the district court had inconsistently construed the patent claims over time, and held that ClearPlay's evidence did not and could not establish infringement under the claims as properly construed.

THE IMPACT

The decision represents a complete win for DISH and puts an end to ClearPlay's claim on a half-billion dollars in damages.

THE TEAM

The Orrick team representing DISH is led by Eric Shumsky and includes Robbie Manhas, Lauren Weber, Alex Bursak and Ned Hirschfeld.

Related Lawyers

Eric Shumsky Partner, Supreme Court & Appellate, Intellectual Property

Washington, D.C.; San Francisco

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D:+1 202 339 8464
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Supreme Court & Appellate
Intellectual Property
Complex Litigation & Dispute Resolution

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Eric Shumsky Partner

Washington, D.C.; San Francisco

Chambers USA reports that Eric is “hailed as ‘highly intelligent, an effective communicator and a great writer,’“ and he “‘prepares meticulously, anticipates every question, and is a gifted orator.’” Legal 500 touts his “exceptional courtroom demeanor and presentation skills” as one of “the finest appellate litigators in the nation.” And Reuters, in a report reviewing some 17,000 practitioners, identified Eric as part of an “elite cadre” of 75 lawyers who are “the most influential members of one of the most powerful specialties in America: the business of practicing before the Supreme Court.”

Eric has served as appellate counsel to a who’s who of leading companies, including American Express, AT&T, DISH Network, Facebook, Genentech, Gilead, KPMG, LG Electronics, LinkedIn, Lyft, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, Netflix, Norfolk Southern, Synopsys, Twitter, and Union Carbide. Across an array of industries, Eric has briefed and argued issues as diverse as patent and copyright, labor and employment, preemption, punitive damages, products liability, national security, and foreign sovereign immunity. Among his scores of arguments in courts around the country, he has argued in the U.S. Supreme Court, where he also has been a primary author of more than 100 briefs.

Eric has particular proficiency in matters of technology and intellectual property. He regularly litigates novel issues concerning the regulation of the internet, including CDA Section 230, computer fraud, takedown notices, and internet domain names. He has been counsel in dozens of patent appeals in the Federal Circuit – litigating patents ranging from semiconductor construction, computer architecture, and genetic sequencing to tobacco curing, keyboard trays, and electrical junction boxes.

In addition to traditional appellate work, Eric has years of experience developing legal strategy in high-profile and complex cases in trial courts. Eric has performed this role in high-stakes multi-district litigation, criminal trials, and civil litigation involving critical dispositive motions.

Prior to joining Orrick, Eric was a partner in the appellate group at Sidley Austin. A former law clerk on the Ninth Circuit and the Central District of California, Eric has extensive experience in California state and federal appellate courts.