San Francisco — Redmond software maker Microsoft Corp., on Wednesday filed a lawsuit in a California District Court, against the DVR maker TiVo Inc., accusing it for violating on two Microsoft patents connected with video programming as a way of defending its partner, AT&T, which is currently involved in a legal dispute with TiVo over the same technology, The Wall Street Journal is reporting.
Microsoft, in its suit, alleged that the components of Alviso, Calif., TiVo’s set-top box products, subscription services, and software infringe on Microsoft-held patents for a “system for displaying programming information” and a “technology and concept related to purchasing and delivering video content programs.”
Microsoft is demanding unspecified amount of compensation and a court order to prevent TiVo from using the Microsoft technology without permission.
“We remain open to settling this situation through an intellectual property licensing agreement, and we have initiated discussions to engage TiVo in negotiations,” Kevin Kutz, Microsoft’s director of public affairs, said in a statement.
TiVo said the Microsoft accusation is simply a means to defend AT&T in a separate case.
The lawsuit is viewed by analysts as an attempt to oppose an earlier lawsuit filed by TiVo against AT&T Inc., which utilizes Microsoft’s technology in its television service. Microsoft last week had requested to intervene in the case on AT&T’s behalf.
AT&T is Microsoft’s largest and most influential customer of its Internet video platform. When AT&T opted to go with an Internet-based TV service, it preferred to work with Microsoft, which powers the video delivery platform, as well as the digital video recording technology.
TiVo dismissed the tech heavyweight’s approach into the legal battle in a statement Wednesday: “Microsoft’s recent legal actions … 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. 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.”
The latest legal flare-up comes a few months after TiVo filed a patent suit against AT&T and Verizon Communications Inc., in a Texas District Court, alleging that their video services illegally employed its TV “time-warping” technology in their digital video recorders. TiVo pointed to AT&T’s U-verse TV service as one of the infringing products.
On Friday, Microsoft filed an intervention complaint in that case, it is because AT&T is Redmond’s biggest customer for that video technology stating that TiVo’s case against AT&T involves Microsoft as well.
“U-verse is a subscription service provided by certain subsidiaries of AT&T Inc. As part of the television subscription, a U-verse subscriber is provided with a set-top box with certain digital video recording and playback functionality,” Microsoft wrote in its complaint. “The set-top boxes run Microsoft software known as Mediaroom. [TiVo’s] accusations of infringement by AT&T Inc. therefore implicate Microsoft software and technology.”
AT&T declined to comment on Microsoft’s legal actions.
TiVo has not been diffident about using the courtroom to protect its intellectual property. The company also has a long-running dispute with Dish Network Corp. and sister company Echostar Corp. over the same DVR technology. The company has agreements with most of the cable companies and DirecTV Group Inc.
TiVo Chief Executive Tom Rogers said earlier this month at an investor conference that he expects a decision in the near term in the long-running dispute between his company and Dish and Echostar.
Rogers said TiVo also looked closely at the telecom companies before making its move.
“We felt it was the right time we were making a statement to them and the world that that sort of infringement would not be tolerated,” Rogers said.
It is not clear how Microsoft’s entry will help or hurt AT&T, especially since TiVo has already played this game and won. If TiVo is successful — and has been so in the past it will gain enough leverage to strike attractive commercial deals with Dish, Echostar, Microsoft, AT&T and Verizon. A loss would signal continued litigation.