Rovi patent suit against Comcast
April 1, 2016
Rovi Corporation has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Comcast in Texas.
“Today, Rovi filed legal action against Comcast,” said Tom Carson, president and CEO, Rovi. “For over a decade, Comcast built its business using Rovi’s patented technology, which it licensed for a fixed term. Comcast’s decision to continue using Rovi’s pioneering technology as an unlicensed infringer is simply intolerable. After numerous attempts at negotiations, Rovi was left with no choice but to defend its intellectual property from unlicensed use. Rovi has taken this action to protect not only its patent portfolio, but also its stakeholders and licensees. While we are disappointed that Comcast remains unlicensed, we believe it needs a licence to offer many of its personalized discovery features to its customers.”
In its filings, Rovi asserts infringement by Comcast, together with its set-top box suppliers, of 14 US patents that together deliver the most important features to Comcast customers. These features include, for example, the way that Comcast implements remote recording, AnyRoom DVR and X1 search. Rovi seeks both an injunction barring continued infringement and damages to compensate it for the harm inflicted by that infringement.