TiVo settles lawsuit against Verizon for $250.4M

Sep 24, 2012

(AP)—Verizon will pay Tivo at least $250.4 million to settle a patent lawsuit related to its DVR technology, and the two have a licensing deal.

The news sent shares of the digital video recording pioneer up more than 7 percent in morning trading.

The two companies agreed to dismiss all pending litigation. They had been scheduled to go to trial in October.

The deal with Verizon is the latest in a string of patent settlements for TiVo, which developed the first commercially available DVR. The device made it easy for people to record programs and watch them later, skipping over ads.

Last year TiVo settled with satellite TV company Dish Network Corp. and its set-top box provider EchoStar Corp. for $500 million, and earlier this year resolved a lawsuit against AT&T Inc. for $215 million. The payments from those settlements are also staggered over several years.

The company has said that the settlements bring its operations closer to profitability. TiVo has posted an annual loss in eight of the past 10 years.

Under the settlement with Verizon Communications Inc., TiVo will get an initial cash payment of $100 million and quarterly payments totaling $150.4 million through July 2018.

Verizon will also pay monthly license fees through July 2018 for each of its DVR subscribers above a certain level.

If the companies work together on certain joint initiatives, $29.4 million of the payment would be subject to a credit.

The companies may also make Internet video services developed through Verizon's joint venture with video rental kiosk Redbox accessible through TiVo's DVRs.

Shares of TiVo, which is based in Alviso, California, added 69 cents, or 7.2 percent, to $10.25. Shares of Verizon, which is based in New York, added 13 cents to $45.76.

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User comments : 1

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Lurker2358
not rated yet Sep 24, 2012
Patent laws were supposed to help promote useful arts not hinder them.

All of these obscene patent wars are hurting consumers more and more.

Wow.

You get to patent skipping commercials?

Really?

So will TiVo sue everyone who ever used fast-forward on VHS?

You can patent the concept of skipping commercials!?!

Really?!?

Wow.

Has anyone filed a patent on "walking out of the room" yet?!

I want to file a patent on a "method or device for avoiding commercial ads on television".

1, A method or device or process whereby commercials may be avoided.

2, Said method requiring minimal waste or fuel, being highly efficient and cost free.

3, Preferably executed while wearing shoes with good grip on non-slip surfaces, pursuant to diagram 1a (see below).

Abstract:

Skipping commercials costs too much money. Therefore we have sought to find a cheaper and more efficient way to evade these annoyances, whereby viewer simply turns off the device and/or leaves the room for five minutes.

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