patents

Because the [itvt] editorial team has a backlog of news to cover following TVOT NYC Intensive 2011 and our post-event vacation, we are covering stories in this issue in round-up/summary format. We anticipate that it will take us several days to catch up with all the recent news: so if your company has sent us a press release or briefed us on an announcement, and you don't yet see your news covered in this issue, please bear with us.

Because the [itvt] editorial team is on the road this week, we are covering stories in this edition of the newsletter in round-up format:

Because the [itvt] editorial team is on the road this week, we are covering stories in this edition of the newsletter in round-up format:

Here is a round-up of some other interactive TV-related stories we didn't have room for in this issue:

Due to the large volume of interactive TV-related news generated over the past few days, we are covering stories in this issue in round-up format. Our regular news coverage will return shortly.

Due to the large volume of interactive TV-related news generated over the past few days by the IFA and the run-up to the IBC, we are covering stories in this issue in round-up format. We anticipate that it will take a couple of days for us to catch up with all the recent news: so if your company has sent us a press release or briefed us on an announcement, and you don't yet see your news covered in this issue, please bear with us. Our regular news coverage will return shortly.

The [itvt] editorial team is currently on the road, so we are covering most stories in round-up/summary form, and we anticipate that there will be some additional interruptions of our regular news publishing schedule beyond that. It will likely take a short while for us to catch up with all the recent news: so if your company has sent us a press release or briefed us on an announcement, and you don't yet see your news covered in this issue, please bear with us. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience to our readers.

Rovi (formerly Macrovision) and German cable operator, Unitymedia, said Tuesday that they have signed a multi-year license agreement for EPG patents owned by Rovi. According to the companies, the agreement provides Unitymedia with a license to Rovi's EPG patents for the operator's pay-TV services in Germany.

The [itvt] editorial team will be on the road this week and next, so we will be covering most stories in round-up/summary form, and we anticipate that there will be some additional interruptions of our regular news publishing schedule beyond that. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience to our readers.

Here is a round-up of some other recent interactive TV-related stories that we didn't have room for in this issue:

Microsoft has filed a lawsuit against TiVo in a San Francisco federal court, claiming that the DVR company has infringed upon two of its US patents--which cover technologies for securely purchasing and delivering video and for displaying programmable information respectively, Bloomberg reported yesterday. Microsoft, which claims that TiVo is illegally using the technologies described by the patents in its set-top boxes, its software and its subscription service, is seeking unspecified monetary damages and a court order to prevent TiVo from using the technologies.

Because the [itvt] editorial team is busy working on The TV of Tomorrow Show (March 3rd-4th in San Francisco), we are covering a number of stories in this issue in summary form:

Akoo, a Chicago-based company that operates a social music television network for out-of-home environments, announced Wednesday that the US Patent and Trademark Office has awarded it a patent (#7,647,613) covering "an apparatus and method of using mobile devices to select on-demand content and socially interact with programming across networked digital video and Internet protocol (IP) television services through SMS text messaging or mobile applications."

According to Akoo, the patented technology currently powers its out-of-home social music TV network. However, the company says, its "patent portfolio strategy includes additional applications in the home, as well as across multiple platforms, including social media, mobile, and gaming consoles."

Rovi (formerly Macrovision--for more on the company's name change and the repositioning it heralds, see the interview with Rovi chief evangelist, Richard Bullwinkle, that was published on itvt.com, July 16th) said last week that it has signed a multi-year EPG patent license agreement with Australia's Hills Industries via the latter's DGTEC business.