Advanced Television

Comcast/TiVo patent row attracts advocacy involvement

August 22, 2019

By Chris Forrester

A number of advocacy groups have jumped into the Comcast/TiVo patent battle. The US International Trade Commission (ITC) is examining the previous preliminary verdicts made by the ITC’s presiding administrative law judge’s summary determination, which favoured TiVo.

That preliminary decision has to be examined by the full ITC and a final determination made.

However, a number of advocacy groups have now entered the argument, says the ITC: The Tea Party Patriots Action, Americans for Limited Government, Frontiers of Freedom Institute, Market Institute, Conservatives for Property Rights, 60 Plus Association and Americans for Limited Government are all now involved.

The comments made by one complainant (Frontiers of Freedom Institute) suggest that they believe the US patent system is under siege and that anyone can now come along and petition to the authorities to have a patent “invalidated”.

That full review of the (previous) presiding administrative law judge’s summary determination is now due, and the ITC had extended the deadline for parties to supply their written submissions to August 15th.  The ITC has further extended the date for certain key data to August 29th to be supplied and with responses due no later than September 10th. “No further submissions on these issues will be permitted unless otherwise ordered by the Commission,” said the ITC.

Categories: Articles, Policy, Regulation