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Spiderman865
join:2005-12-27
Joliet, IL

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Spiderman865 to jbob

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to jbob

Re: [X1] TiVo wins patent suit against some X1 boxes and features

said by jbob:

If Comcast thinks they're right then flip the switch on the Streaming App and let us set recordings again. And whatever other feature they removed.

I do miss that feature.
Kearnstd
Space Elf
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join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ

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Kearnstd to telcodad

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to telcodad
What we see here is ultimately the big problem with technology patents today. Merely taking a different path to the same objective does not mean you are safe from a lawsuit.

If previous inventions worked like tech we would have developed slower, Imagine if the arc lamp inventor could have sued Edison because they could merely patent "Source of electric light". Or if Edison could sue Westinghouse/Tesla over "Power Grid". No back then you had to be far more specific.

Seems in software "record function in an app" is enough without specifically how your version works.

Warzau
Premium Member
join:2000-10-26
Naperville, IL

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Warzau to Spiderman865

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to Spiderman865
Yeah I missed a couple of recording after forgetting the feature was removed. When my wife asked to record a show I told her I physically have to do it on the box for the time being.
BiggA
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join:2005-11-23
Central CT
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BiggA to Kearnstd

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to Kearnstd
Yeah, the whole concept of software patents is total nonsense in the first place. Software should be copyrighted, not patented. That way, someone else can code the same thing a different way and not be in violation of a patent. Business process patents are also nonsense. The only patents I can see, are very specific, very narrow patents for physical things. And then that gets into stuff like prescription drugs, which would be force-licensed on a regulated basis or something.

Anoncbed3
@cox.net

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Anoncbed3 to telcodad

Anon

to telcodad
I wonder how this will effect Comcast's licensing of the X1 technology to Cox.

»www.multichannel.com/new ··· t-415689

telcodad
MVM
join:2011-09-16
Lincroft, NJ

2 recommendations

telcodad

MVM

Jeez - now WhereverTV, an OTT television streaming company, is suing Comcast in Florida federal court, accusing Comcast's television service of infringing its patent covering a “global interactive programming guide.”

WhereverTV files Patent Infringement against Comcast Corporation
WhereverTV press release, GlobeNewswire - August 2, 2018
»globenewswire.com/news-r ··· ion.html
quote:
WhereverTV Broadcasting Corp., which delivers Over The Top (OTT) subscription television services to AppleTV, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Google Chromecast, smartphones, Tablets, computers and other devices, today announces that it has filed in the Middle District of Florida “case number 2:18-cv-00529-UA-CM” suit against Comcast Corporation for the infringement of the Company’s ‘431 patent and more specifically, its Xfinity platform.

After extensive consultation and evaluation of the basic foundation of its ‘431 patent with the law firm of Reese Marketos, LLP, the board of directors of WhereverTV has determined that defending its patent at this time, is in the best interest of the Company’s shareholders.

“The Board of Directors, Adam Sanderson of Reese Marketos, LLP and myself spent a considerable amount of time researching, evaluating and consulting before taking this position of enforcing our patent rights against Comcast,” stated WhereverTV CEO Edward D. Ciofani. “Our defense of our ‘431 patent is just one of the many great things upcoming for WhereverTV. We will keep shareholders up-to-date on the progress of this suit.” ...

motorola870
join:2008-12-07
Arlington, TX

1 recommendation

motorola870

Member

said by telcodad:

Jeez - now WhereverTV, an OTT television streaming company, is suing Comcast in Florida federal court, accusing Comcast's television service of infringing its patent covering a “global interactive programming guide.”

WhereverTV files Patent Infringement against Comcast Corporation
WhereverTV press release, GlobeNewswire - August 2, 2018
»globenewswire.com/news-r ··· ion.html

quote:
WhereverTV Broadcasting Corp., which delivers Over The Top (OTT) subscription television services to AppleTV, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Google Chromecast, smartphones, Tablets, computers and other devices, today announces that it has filed in the Middle District of Florida “case number 2:18-cv-00529-UA-CM” suit against Comcast Corporation for the infringement of the Company’s ‘431 patent and more specifically, its Xfinity platform.

After extensive consultation and evaluation of the basic foundation of its ‘431 patent with the law firm of Reese Marketos, LLP, the board of directors of WhereverTV has determined that defending its patent at this time, is in the best interest of the Company’s shareholders.

“The Board of Directors, Adam Sanderson of Reese Marketos, LLP and myself spent a considerable amount of time researching, evaluating and consulting before taking this position of enforcing our patent rights against Comcast,” stated WhereverTV CEO Edward D. Ciofani. “Our defense of our ‘431 patent is just one of the many great things upcoming for WhereverTV. We will keep shareholders up-to-date on the progress of this suit.” ...

blatent pantent troll IPG has been around since the 1970s these jerks trying to patent everthing under the sun they can't try to say global interactive program guide wth all cable providers use internet to access their remote recordings.

telcodad
MVM
join:2011-09-16
Lincroft, NJ

1 edit

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telcodad

MVM

said by telcodad:

Latest update:

TiVo v. Comcast: Round II
By Andrew Levey, American University Intellectual Property Brief - March 29, 2018
»www.ipbrief.net/2018/03/ ··· roundii/

quote:
... Comcast has fired back at TiVo/Rovi with accusations that they are “patent trolls” harboring “outdated and possibly invalid patents.” This accusation does not appear to have merit or substance, as Tivo/Rovi is not so much abusing or overly utilizing the judicial system for bad faith monetary gain, but rather pursuing a legal route to obtain legitimate licensing fees per their patented technology.

One could surmise that the outcome of this new litigation will more than likely end in Rovi/TiVo’s favor. However, Comcast has vowed to “aggressively defend themselves” and prevent TiVo from successfully obtaining an import ban on Comcast’s set-top boxes. As litigation like this can protect a company for many years, the immediate affect is already playing out as Comcast has warned customers of the potential ramifications of an unsuccessful disposition. If all plays out well for Rovi/TiVo, experts deduce that Comcast would need to shell out an estimated $60 million (annually) in Intellectual Property licensing fees »www.ipwatchdog.com/2018/ ··· d=93179/

The Patent and Trademark Office has invalidated a TiVo patent on technology that lets viewers search television content. The office’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board held July 25 that TiVo’s patent is invalid and obvious in light of prior inventions. The patent covers technology to process a user search through text inputs in television guides. Comcast has also filed over three dozen petitions challenging TiVo patents.

TiVo Patent Nixed in Comcast’s Patent Office Challenge
By Malathi Nayak, Bloomberg Law - July 26, 2018
»biglawbusiness.com/tivo- ··· allenge/
quote:
Comcast has convinced the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to invalidate a TiVo Corp. patent on technology that lets viewers search television content.

The office’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board held July 25 that TiVo’s patent is invalid and obvious in light of prior inventions. The patent covers technology to process a user search through text inputs in television guides.

The ruling is a win for Comcast, which has filed more than three dozen petitions challenging patents owned by Tivo’s Rovi and Veveo units. Comcast still faces a district court infringement lawsuit by TiVo involving the patent and other patented technologies.

The patent dispute arose after Rovi, which merged with TiVo in 2016, and Comcast were unable to renew a patent licensing agreement for television set-top box technology. Comcast had asked for an inter partes review, which is an administrative challenge, against Veveo’s U.S. Patent No. 8,433,696 and several others after being sued for infringement in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in 2016.

That case was stayed in October last year pending rulings on Comcast’s patent board challenges. Proceedings in the case, however, are ongoing on another TiVo patent that was also challenged by Comcast in a petition that the board refused to examine.

The board agreed with Comcast’s argument that the ‘696 patent’s claims were unpatentable, as they were covered by a combination of three prior inventions.

TiVo’s district court infringement lawsuit seeking damages from Comcast isn’t affected by the U.S. patent office’s decision invalidating U.S. Patent ‘696, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Matt Larson said. “The Comcast victory does marginally reduce TiVo’s leverage in settlement talks by lowering exposure to the patent in subsequent litigation,” he said. ...
EDIT: Also on MCN: »www.multichannel.com/new ··· ith-tivo
telcodad

2 recommendations

telcodad

MVM

These patent fights with Comcast have cost TiVo quite a bit:

TiVo’s Patent Litigation Costs Spike $5.6M in Q2 as Comcast Dispute Drags on
By Daniel Frankel, Multichannel News - August 9, 2018
»www.multichannel.com/new ··· drags-on

camper
just visiting this planet
Premium Member
join:2010-03-21
Bethel, CT

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camper

Premium Member

said by telcodad:

These patent fights with Comcast have cost TiVo quite a bit:

 

Some investments work, others don't.

I suspect Rovi looks at its patent portfolio as an investment to be tapped.

Warzau
Premium Member
join:2000-10-26
Naperville, IL

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Warzau to telcodad

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to telcodad
»www.multichannel.com/new ··· ith-tivo

So when do we get our record button back

telcodad
MVM
join:2011-09-16
Lincroft, NJ

2 recommendations

telcodad

MVM

said by Warzau:

»www.multichannel.com/new ··· ith-tivo

So when do we get our record button back

The TiVo patent that was just invalidated by Patent Trial and Appeal Board involves a feature that lets users watch one channel while recording another.

That is a different one from one involving functionality that lets customers schedule DVR recordings remotely: »www.forbes.com/sites/leg ··· -dispute

Though, according to that Forbes article, "the patents at issue expire in September," so maybe that record button will reappear sometime next month then.

DocDrew
How can I help?
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join:2009-01-28
SoCal
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DocDrew

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said by telcodad:

The TiVo patent that was just invalidated by Patent Trial and Appeal Board involves a feature that lets users watch one channel while recording another.

That seems to be a VERY basic feature of a DVR. Good thing that patent shot down.

camper
just visiting this planet
Premium Member
join:2010-03-21
Bethel, CT

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camper

Premium Member

said by DocDrew:

That seems to be a VERY basic feature of a DVR. Good thing that patent shot down.

 
I used to do a similar thing with VCRs. I had two VCRs, I would use one to record while I watched shows on the second one.

Amazing, if I had put the two VCRs in a single box, I could have patented the concept.

Oh well...

DocDrew
How can I help?
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DocDrew

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said by camper:

I used to do a similar thing with VCRs. I had two VCRs, I would use one to record while I watched shows on the second one.

Amazing, if I had put the two VCRs in a single box, I could have patented the concept.

Oh well...

Too late:
»patents.justia.com/paten ··· /5216552

Go-video was around late 80, early 90s pushing those out.
»www.amazon.com/GoVideo-D ··· 00068BRM

camper
just visiting this planet
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join:2010-03-21
Bethel, CT

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camper

Premium Member

 

I thought the concept had a familiar ring to it.

telcodad
MVM
join:2011-09-16
Lincroft, NJ

3 recommendations

telcodad

MVM

Comcast just got 2 more TiVo patents invalidated now:

Comcast Gets Two More TiVo Patents Invalidated
Latest ruling puts TiVo on the ropes in New York federal court battle

By Daniel Frankel, Multichannel News - September 10, 2018
»www.multichannel.com/new ··· alidated
quote:
The U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board has once again sided with Comcast in its intellectual property battle with TiVo, invalidating two more of the latter’s patents.

The patents include No. 9,172,987, “Methods and Systems for Updating Functionality of a Set-top Box Using Markup Language”; and No. 8,713,595, “Interactive Program Guide Systems and Processes.”

In its New York Southern District federal lawsuit against Comcast, TiVo now has only one patent left that hasn’t been ruled invalid. Comcast has filed for a summary judgement of non-infringement to strike down that final patent.

In August, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board also determined that Patent No. 8,621,512, which deals with DVR recording features, was also invalid.

Since 2016, TiVo has aggressively targeted Comcast in venues including a New York federal court and the International Trade Commission, seeking to collect licensing fees on technologies that it claims are used in Comcast’s X1 video operating system. ...

jbob
Reach Out and Touch Someone
Premium Member
join:2004-04-26
Little Rock, AR

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jbob

Premium Member

So....waiting for the Record option to be added back into the Streaming App.

Anon4cd99
@comcast.net

3 recommendations

Anon4cd99

Anon

said by jbob:

So....waiting for the Record option to be added back into the Streaming App.

Wait until the next updates (perhaps later this month, perhaps October(ish)). At this point It is not really worth continuing to litigate any remaining issues regarding patent 263 and 413 on any principal, since the patents appear to have expired, but it is likely the Comcast IP lawyers have to sign off on their finding that all applicable patents have expired (since any willful infringement would carry quite the penalty, and no one other than Comcast lawyer(s) opinion on what has expired when is going to matter, and they will do their full due diligence).

Warzau
Premium Member
join:2000-10-26
Naperville, IL

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Warzau to jbob

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to jbob
whats weird is on my Roku I have the ability to record.

jbob
Reach Out and Touch Someone
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join:2004-04-26
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jbob

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said by Warzau:

whats weird is on my Roku I have the ability to record.

Sure does. I had not noticed that. Probably because it's beta?
kdex86
join:2016-06-10
Norton, MA

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kdex86 to telcodad

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to telcodad
said by telcodad:

»www.forbes.com/sites/leg ··· -dispute

Though, according to that Forbes article, "the patents at issue expire in September," so maybe that record button will reappear sometime next month then.

It's 3 days into October and the "set your DVR from your phone" functionality has not been restored yet. Verizon Fios subscribers can do it, so can PlayStation Vue and YouTube TV subscribers. Is Comcast being bullied here?

jbob
Reach Out and Touch Someone
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said by Anon4cd99 :

said by jbob:

So....waiting for the Record option to be added back into the Streaming App.

Wait until the next updates (perhaps later this month, perhaps October(ish)).

Just an FYI I have had 2 Streaming App updates since this post. Still no record option. Anxiously waiting.
sparks
join:2001-07-08
Little Rock, AR

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sparks to telcodad

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to telcodad
Well Microsoft has stolen everything for years and no one says a thing.

was it money that got them out of it. Comcast will be spending a penny or 2.
hell they might buy tivo.

Anon7d5e9
@67.161.9.x

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Anon7d5e9

Anon

said by sparks:

hell they might buy tivo.

The market cap is only around $1.5B, so it would be pocket change for Comcast, but since rovi's (tivo's) primary income these days appears to be being a patent troll, I am not sure Comcast wants to gain the added reputation as a patent troll (unless their goal is now to answer the question of "how low can you go" regarding reputation).

jbob
Reach Out and Touch Someone
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·Comcast XFINITY
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jbob to telcodad

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to telcodad
I'm kinda curious here if there is any culpability with ITC with these cases. It appears they have been incorrect with several of their rulings which were overturned by the courts. These ITC rulings have cost Comcast a ton of lawyers fees I'm sure. Losing these patent suits has got to cost Rovi some big bucks now and it appears ITC, at least to me, should share some of the blame.

Anon8b6f7
@67.161.9.x

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Anon8b6f7

Anon

said by jbob:

.. and it appears ITC, at least to me, should share some of the blame.

The rules, regs, and laws presume that a patent (any IP, really) that is issued is by default valid. Perhaps that should be fixed, but that is a much bigger change to IP law, and eventually will require international cooperation. Get moving on it!

camper
just visiting this planet
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join:2010-03-21
Bethel, CT

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camper

Premium Member

said by Anon8b6f7 :

The rules, regs, and laws presume that a patent (any IP, really) that is issued is by default valid.

 

The solution may be to look at the reasons why patents are overturned, and then adjust the approval process to eliminate those types of cases.

[I know, easier typed than done... ]

Anon9ea1f
@67.161.9.x

2 recommendations

Anon9ea1f

Anon

said by camper:

[I know, easier typed than done... ]

And about as easy to accomplish as world peace (too much money is involved in maintaining the status quo in those cases for either side to go quietly into the night).

telcodad
MVM
join:2011-09-16
Lincroft, NJ

3 recommendations

telcodad to kdex86

MVM

to kdex86
said by kdex86:

said by telcodad:

»www.forbes.com/sites/leg ··· -dispute

Though, according to that Forbes article, "the patents at issue expire in September," so maybe that record button will reappear sometime next month then.

It's 3 days into October and the "set your DVR from your phone" functionality has not been restored yet. Verizon Fios subscribers can do it, so can PlayStation Vue and YouTube TV subscribers. Is Comcast being bullied here?

An article on the MCN site today about the status of restoring it:

Comcast Looks to Possibly Re-Instate Remote DVR Recording Feature on X1 with Upcoming Patent Ruling
Favorable patent appeals board decision would all but roll back last year’s fateful ITC ruling against the cable operator

By Daniel Frankel, Multichannel News - October 16, 2018
»www.multichannel.com/new ··· t-ruling
quote:
Comcast received another minor victory in its broad-reaching patent war with TiVo, with the Patent Trial and Appeals Board (PTAB) invalidating another TiVo patent.

However, a bigger win for Comcast might be at hand, with the PTAB set to issue a more relevant ruling later this week. That decision could enable Comcast to turn back “on” a remote DVR recording feature that the cable operator disabled 11 months ago, after the International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled against the company.
:
... ITC did rule last November in Rovi’s favor on two patents related to remote DVR recording - No. 8,006,263 and 8,578,413. Comcast subsequently removed the remote DVR recording feature in its X1 platform, as it moved on with its legal fight.
:
However, in September, the PTAB invalidated one of the two remote-recording patents that Rovi received favorable ITC rulings on—No. ‘263. The PTAB is set to rule on the other one, ‘413, later this week. An individual close to Comcast said that a favorable ruling could inspire the operator to re-instate the remote DVR recording feature.
:
An invalidation of '413, and subsequent re-introduction of remote DVR recording on X1, would be a major blow to Rovi's legal strategy. However, it's unlikely that the technology company would quit its battle with Comcast. ...