TiVo said today that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has sided with the company in the latest chapter of an ongoing patent suit against Comcast.
TiVo said the court affirmed the International Trade Commission’s (ITC) jurisdiction and its decision to ban the importation of Comcast’s set-top boxes that infringe on TiVo’s and Rovi’s patents.
“The Federal Circuit affirmed the ITC’s Final Determination and what we at TiVo have known for years – Comcast infringed Rovi’s patents and its business is subject to the ITC’s jurisdiction. This ruling maintains the ITC’s import ban against Comcast’s set-top boxes, and showcases the strength of Rovi’s battle-tested patent portfolio,” said Arvin Patel, executive vice president and chief intellectual property officer at Rovi, in a statement. “We understand the value of our patented technology and why Comcast has relied on it heavily since launching its X1 platform. But Comcast cannot continue to use Rovi’s patented technology without paying for a license. We are hopeful today’s announcement will encourage Comcast to put their customers first and license our IP just as the other top 9 U.S. Pay-TV providers do.”
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The development this week follows a June 2019 decision from Administrative Law Judge MaryJoan McNamara in which she said that Comcast’s X1 pay TV platform infringes on a TiVo patent covering search functions.
While TiVo praised that decision, Comcast also claimed a partial victory.
“We view today’s initial determination to be a victory for Comcast because the administrative law judge found no violation as to two of the three patents addressed,” Comcast said in a statement. “We look forward to the full Commission’s review of the one remaining patent later this year, but we are confident, regardless, this ruling will not disrupt our service to our customers. Rovi also was unsuccessful on five other patents that it had previously withdrawn from this case. We will continue to resist Rovi’s efforts to force Comcast and our customers to make unreasonable payments for aging and obsolete patents.”