Microsoft sues TiVo over video patents

Microsoft is suing DVR pioneer TiVo over two Microsoft products that TiVo uses, but TiVo has countered that Microsoft’s legal actions are on behalf of AT&T.

Microsoft filed its complaint in a federal court yesterday in San Francisco, according to a story today on Bloomberg.com [1]. Microsoft said that TiVo is infringing on its patent for a system that displays programmable information and a secure method for buying and delivering video programs.

Without a license, TiVo is using part of two Microsoft patents in its products or components, including set-top boxes, subscription services and software, the lawsuit said.

Microsoft wants a court order to stop TiVo from using its technology without its permission and wants unspecified monetary damages. In another case, Microsoft wants to be involved in a lawsuit that TiVo filed against AT&T so it can challenge TiVo’s DVR-related patents.

The lawsuit revolves around the use of Microsoft’s Mediaroom software.

"Microsoft's recent legal actions, including its decision to seek to intervene on behalf of its customer, AT&T, and its recent complaint against TiVo in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California do not bear on whether the AT&T products and services that are the subject of TiVo's complaint infringe the patents asserted by TiVo,” TiVo said in a statement. “Rather these actions are part of a legal strategy to defend AT&T. We remain confident in our position that AT&T will be found to infringe on the TiVo patents asserted."

TiVo said in its lawsuit against AT&T that the telco’s U-verse service infringes on three of its DVR patents.

TiVo is no stranger to courtrooms. It won a lawsuit against Dish Network that included one of the patents that is at issue in the AT&T lawsuit, but an appeals court is looking at whether Dish’s new service still infringes on the patent.