TiVo’s seeing for another go. Yesterday, it registered lawsuits in California and Massachusetts claiming that Comcast’s X1 set-top cases are infringing on no less than eight of its patents. “Within decades-long expense in research and development, Rovi has created discoveries that delight consumers in their day-to-day fun experience. Our responsibility to our customers and stockholders compels us to protect these valuable inventions from unlicensed use,” TiVo CEO Enrique Rodriguez said in a comment. TiVo was obtained by Rovi in 2016. The merged businesses took the more recognizable name TiVo and at touching, they together held over 6,000 patents.
In November, the International Trade Commission ruled that Comcast had defiled two of TiVo’s patents and ordered an import ban on X1 boxes that violated those patents. Comcast screwed up disabling certain features that infringed on TiVo’s intellectual property and is in the manner of appealing that ruling.
As people move more towards on-demand viewing and cord-cutting, TiVo’s outcomes are becoming less and less relevant. Rovi was known to be belligerent before it bought TiVo, and the company appears to be directing to lawsuits in order to keep ahold of the money it brings in through permitting rights. TiVo’s goal with these latest lawsuits is to push Comcast to re-up an over-a-decade-long licensing concession it had with TiVo that expired in 2016.
The patents TiVo is accusing Comcast of dishonoring in its newly filed lawsuits are related to hallmarks like pausing and resuming programs on different devices, restarting live programs already in progress, DVR registration and search and voice functionality. TiVo says it will also file suits with the International Trade Commission regarding these patients.
A Comcast spokesperson told us, “Comcast engineers individually created our X1 products and services, and through its lawsuit campaign against Comcast, Rovi seeks to charge Comcast and its consumers for technology Rovi didn’t create.
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