The new “what did he say” feature for 4th generation Apple TV works with Siri and rewinds any tv show or movie on your command by 10-15 seconds and replays it with added temporary subtitles. The new feature seems like a great idea, something that could be really useful, there’s just one problem…it’s not an original idea.
What is CustomPlay’s movie companion software?
Max Abecassis, the owner of Flordia company CustomPlay, claims he invented the idea first. He is now suing Apple for patent infringement, claiming Apple’s ‘new’ idea copies its own movie companion software.
You can view a demonstration of the Apple TV feature on their September 2015 event video by skipping to around 1:02:10. This feature does seem remarkably similar to CustomPlay’s description of their idea used on one of their apps called One Screen:
“The What? function rewinds the movie a user-defined amount of time, e.g. 20 seconds, and continues playback with the subtitles automatically enabled only during the replayed portion.”
The patent even describes the use of “a remote control capable of activating a replay function”, however, it does not describe voice activation, which Apple’s also uses.
Was Apple aware of CustomPlay’s idea?
Abecassis claims he first invented the idea, described in U.S. Patent No. 6,408,128 B1 which was filed in 1998 and granted in 2002. The company claims software that uses the patent is available for download on their website.
However, the One Screen app on their website it listed as “coming soon”. The company has said it does still intend to make the software available for users, however, exactly when this will happen remains unclear.
According to CustomPlay, Apple was aware of the patent as CustomPlay approached the tech giant in 2014 about a potentially exclusive business relationship. It believes app has implemented its patented technology, without licence, into the 4th generation tvOS operating system, which launched in 2015.
CustomPlay reportedly sent letters to Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, and to three iTunes executives back in the summer of 2014. The company repeatedly contacted Apple, however, there is no indicated that Apple responded.
