In an ongoing legal battle over streaming technology, the European Union’s Unified Patent Court (UPC) has denied Dish Network’s request to review the source code for the streaming operations of Aylo, the parent company of Pornhub.

The ruling, issued by the Court of First Instance for the UPC’s Local Division in Mannheim, Germany, blocks Dish’s attempt to investigate Aylo’s coding practices and limits its legal maneuvers in the high-stakes patent dispute.

The court’s decision, reported by Law360, maintains that Aylo has already provided adequate transparency in compliance with prior litigation requirements. Dish, along with its streaming subsidiary Sling TV, argued that access to Aylo’s source code was essential to investigate potential patent infringement.

However, the court ruled that Dish’s three discovery requests—related to video source code, media player compatibility on major browsers, and content delivery networks (CDNs)—were disproportionate to the claims at issue.

In its filing, the Court of First Instance stated, “An order to transmit information … during the legal dispute is generally ruled out if the information requested is not relevant to the claims or objections pursued in the legal dispute.”

The court deemed Dish’s demand to be excessive, indicating that the information sought was not proportionate to the arguments presented.

Dish’s contention centers on patent EP 2479680, a technology patented in 2005 known as the “method for presenting rate adaptive streams.” This adaptive streaming technology allows real-time adjustment of video quality based on the user’s internet speed and device performance, a method now widely used across streaming platforms to enhance playback quality and reduce buffering. Dish alleges that Aylo’s platform, including Pornhub, leverages similar technology without proper authorization.

The UPC has ruled that it has jurisdiction over the patent case, with Dish seeking to protect its adaptive streaming technology across the EU.

However, Aylo’s legal team argues that Dish must substantiate claims of patent infringement across the UPC’s member countries, where it alleges protection under EP 2479680.

The UPC’s rejection of Dish’s requests presents a significant setback for the Colorado-based streaming giant, which has struggled to provide direct evidence of infringement without access to Aylo’s proprietary technology. This development also underscores ongoing questions regarding the scope of patent protection in digital media, particularly for adaptive streaming technologies, which have become standard across streaming services.

Aylo has not issued a public comment on the ruling, and representatives from Dish and Sling TV have yet to respond to inquiries. The ruling from the Court of First Instance is expected to shape the trajectory of the case as Dish continues to pursue its claims in the European courts.