Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) has filed a breach-of-contract suit against Rovi Corp., alleging that the technology vendor's Texas-based patent suit against it violates terms of a licensing deal that requires such disputes to be handled in New York.
Comcast also told a New York federal court that Rovi breached contract terms when it took the dispute to the International Trade Commission. Additionally, the MSO argued that it had the right to use the patents through March 31 of this year.
"Comcast now brings the instant action to enforce its contractual rights and to establish its noninfringement of Rovi's patents," the complaint said
Rovi filed suit against Comcast in April, alleging the cable company and it set-top suppliers have violated 14 of its patents.
According to Rovi, the patents relate to numerous features in Comcast's X1 video platform, including the way Comcast implements remote recording, the "AnyRoom" DVR and search.
"Comcast had licensed Rovi's technology for more than a decade, and rather than renew its license, Comcast opted to continue to use our patented technology without our permission," said Samir Armaly, Rovi's executive VP of intellectual property and licensing for Rovi Corp., speaking to CableFax. "While we would have preferred to reach a commercial agreement, Comcast left us no choice but to seek legal remedies to protect our valuable intellectual property."
Rovi has more than 5,000 patents either issued or pending. The company made 54 percent of its revenue in 2015 from the licensing of intellectual property.
For more:
- read this CableFax story
- read this Law360 story (sub. req.)
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