TiVo Sues Comcast Over X1 Settop Box Patent Infringement
TiVo's Rovi Corporation and Comcast are wrapped up in another legal battle with TiVo claiming that Comcast is violating patents that are held by Rovi and related affiliates. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California and the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
In the suits, TiVo alleges that the Comcast X1 platform is infringing on patents that Rovi holds that have to do with the capability for a viewer to pause a show and resume playback on different devices. Rovi also claims that Comcast is infringing on patents that have to do with restarting live programming in progress, advanced DVR recording features and advanced search and voice functionality. Rovi points out that the patents that are involved in the case "represent a very small component of Rovi’s worldwide patent portfolio."
"Through decades-long investment in research and development, Rovi has created innovations that delight consumers in their day-to-day entertainment experience. Our commitment to our customers and stockholders compels us to protect these valuable inventions from unlicensed use," said Enrique Rodriguez, president and CEO, TiVo. "Hundreds of media and entertainment leaders around the world recognize the value of our innovations by selecting our products and services and licensing our intellectual property. Our goal is for Comcast to renew its long-standing license so it can continue providing its customers the many popular features Rovi invented."
Rovi notes that it also plans to file additional legal action against Comcast over the same patents with the U.S. International Trade commission. In that action, Rovi is seeking an exclusion order that will prevent infringing X1 set-top boxes form being imported into the United States. If Rovi wins this injunction, it won’t be the first it has been sided with by the ITC against Comcast. In November 2017, the ITS granted Rovi an exclusion order barring the importation and sale of infringing X1 set-top boxes into the US.
