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. 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.
