Rovi Guides, Inc. v. Videotron Ltd.

Rovi Guides, Inc. v. Videotron Ltd.

The Court exercised its Rule 32 discretion to reject Videotron’s request to delay the trial until its witnesses could appear in person because doing so would cause indefinite delay, any in‑person advantage to Rovi had been eroded by the passage of time, security concerns about videoconferencing can be managed, and the public‑health context requires remote proceedings; accordingly the trial will resume remotely using the eTrial Tool Kit and an appropriate videoconference platform.

Citation
2020 FC 596
Parties
Plaintiff / Defendant by Counterclaim: Rovi Guides, Inc.; Defendant / Plaintiff by Counterclaim: Videotron Ltd.
Court
Federal Court
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
6 May 2020
Procedural Posture
Patent Infringement / Trial Adjourned and Ordered to Resume Remotely (evidentiary Stage)
Outcome
Videotron’s objection to resuming the trial remotely without its witnesses appearing in person is rejected; trial to resume remotely.
Legal Topics
Remote Hearings, Videoconference Security, Trial Scheduling, Procedural Fairness, E Trial Document Management
Source Language
English
Patent Law Civil Procedure Evidence Technology/privacy Remote Hearings Videoconference Security Trial Scheduling Procedural Fairness +1 more

Case Brief

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

More case intelligence is available

Unlock the full research layer for this judgment.

Full judgment text Legal principles 4 Authorities cited 3 Party arguments 2 Amounts and remedies 2
Sign in to unlock

Parties

Rovi Guides, Inc.

Plaintiff / Defendant by Counterclaim

Videotron Ltd.

Defendant / Plaintiff by Counterclaim

Procedural Posture

Patent Infringement / Trial Adjourned and Ordered to Resume Remotely (evidentiary Stage)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the trial should be delayed until defendant’s witnesses can attend in person
  2. 2 Whether security concerns about Zoom justify refusing a remote hearing
  3. 3 Whether videoconference testimony impairs credibility assessment or causes undue prejudice

Ratio Decidendi

The Court exercised its Rule 32 discretion to reject Videotron’s request to delay the trial until its witnesses could appear in person because doing so would cause indefinite delay, any in‑person advantage to Rovi had been eroded by the passage of time, security concerns about videoconferencing can be managed, and the public‑health context requires remote proceedings; accordingly the trial will resume remotely using the eTrial Tool Kit and an appropriate videoconference platform.

Court Disposition

Videotron’s objection to resuming the trial remotely without its witnesses appearing in person is rejected; trial to resume remotely.

Orders

  • The trial shall resume commencing May 25, 2020 at 9:30 a.m. (EDT) for a maximum of 15 days during the weeks of May 25, June 8 and June 15, 2020.
  • The trial shall be conducted remotely using the eTrial Tool Kit and Zoom, or such other platform as may be directed by the Court.