Favourable ruling for TiVo at the ITC

TiVo victory at ITC

SAN JOSE, Calif. — TiVo Corporation (NASDAQ: TIVO) received a favorable determination by Administrative Law Judge MaryJoan McNamara of the International Trade Commission (ITC) that Comcast’s X1 platform infringes Rovi’s patents.

“We are thrilled by yet another legal victory,” said Arvin Patel, Executive Vice President and Chief Intellectual Property Officer at Rovi Corporation, a TiVo company. “This decision demonstrates Comcast’s repeated infringement of Rovi’s patents. We hope that today’s decision will encourage Comcast to pay the necessary licensing fees so their customers can once again access advanced cable features.”

This is the second favorable ITC determination the Company has received from the ITC. In November 2017, the ITC issued a final ruling that Comcast had infringed two Rovi patents around ‘remote record’ functionality. Comcast subsequently elected to remove this popular feature from their products.

Additionally, on May 23, 2019, the ITC instituted a third investigation into Comcast for infringing six Rovi patents including: X1 Sports App, multi-room DVR features, and set-top box integrations of apps like Netflix. That investigation has also been assigned to Administrative Law Judge McNamara.

Background Information

• In November 2017, the ITC issued a final ruling that Comcast had infringed Rovi patents resulting in a “limited exclusion order” that forced Comcast to remove popular features from their products that their competitors have access to because they pay the license.
• One such feature that Comcast was forced to remove was the ability to record television shows remotely, rather than having to be in front of the television you are recording on.
• Prior to today’s ruling, Administrative Law Judge McNamara had rejected by summary determination Comcast’s contention that the ITC had no jurisdiction over Comcast because it was not an importer under Section 337 of the ITC Act.
• TiVo’s US portfolio alone has 2,271 patents and 53 US issuances year to date.
• TiVo has a worldwide portfolio of over 5,500 patents.
• In 2018, TiVo was issued 489 new patents worldwide — a record year for patent issuances.
• The 2018 portfolio additions cover a wide variety of everyday media experiences, including key technologies to the Xfinity X1 experience.
• TiVo has patents in the following areas: Advertising, Analytics, DVR, Guide, Search and Rec, Interactive TV and apps, AR/VR, Multi-screen, parental controls, VOD/OTT, Social Media, Sports, Personalization and Voice.