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    AT&T to pay $215M to TiVo to settle patent suit

    LOS ANGELES (AP) — AT&T Inc. will pay TiVo Inc. at least $215 million through June 2018, becoming the latest TV signal provider to settle a patent lawsuit involving the digital video recorder pioneer.

    Per subscriber, this payout will be much larger than a similar $500 million settlement TiVo reached in May with satellite TV company Dish Network Corp. and its set-top box provider, EchoStar Corp.

    Dish had about 13.9 million subscribers at the end of September, while AT&T's U-verse had just 3.6 million. That makes AT&T's settlement worth at least $59.72 per subscriber, while Dish's cost $35.97 per subscriber.

    TiVo CEO Tom Rogers said the bigger settlement resulted in part from the fact that AT&T heavily marketed its digital video recorders as a key difference between itself and bigger cable TV providers.

    "From the get-go, their offering was primarily based on DVR," Rogers said. He added that TiVo is pursuing another similar case against Verizon over its FiOS service. He said marketing for FiOS also emphasizes its DVRs. Verizon has about 4 million video subscribers.

    TiVo shares jumped $1.15, or 12.9 percent, to $10.07 after hours on the news, while AT&T shares rose 21 cents to $30.59 after hours. TiVo's stock had fallen 5 cents in regular trading Tuesday as the markets rose overall.

    A spokesman for AT&T declined to comment.

    AT&T will pay more than $215 million if subscriptions to its U-verse television package rise in line with forecasts, TiVo said.

    The first $51 million was due in a lump sum on Tuesday, with another $20 million due in the first year and quarterly payments after that.

    The settlement will bring TiVo's operations closer to profitability, Rogers said.

    Founded in 1997, TiVo developed the first commercially available digital video recorder, making it easy for people to record programs and watch them later and to skip through advertisements. The innovation changed the way ratings agency Nielsen measures audiences as more people began watching shows well after they aired.

     

    23 comments

    • AModerate  •  4 mths ago
      No, Replay TV had the first commercially available DVR, if I'm not mistaken.
      • william h 4 mths ago
        The first ReplayTV model was introduced in January 1999 during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, at the same time as a competing DVR model from rival company TiVo.
      • Russ 4 mths ago
        According to Wikipedia, Tivo first sold in March 1999, and Replay first sold in April 1999.
      • Adoptedson32 4 mths ago
        It's not just DVR's that's the issue. TiVo's interface is awesome and set the industry standard as the one to emulate.
    • NCAAfootballiscorrupt  •  4 mths ago
      So much ignorance here. This victory for Tivo is well-deserved. Everyone has been ripping them off for years, and it’s time they pay up. Those of you who think Tivo is being unfairly rewarded have obviously never had your invention stolen. If you had, you would understand.
      • ..... 4 mths ago
        So, with this logic, everyone should be paying Apple since they came out with the first touch screen smartphone and app store?
    • OncleWillie  •  4 mths ago
      Can't compete in the open market place? Sue! If there is truly intellectual property involved here, why weren't they aggressively protecting their innovations right from the start?

      TiVo may have been the first commercially viable product but digital video recording was around for several years as software for PC's and Macs before they hit the market place. Wonder how much TiVo "borrowed" from early programmers in making their product?
      • NCAAfootballiscorrupt 4 mths ago
        Why don’t you read about the case before spouting off? The large MSO’s RIPPED OFF the Tivo technology – left, right and center. It’s hard to ‘aggressively protect their innovations right from the start’, as you say, when everyone is stealing it. Plus, the cable & sat companies have access to the customers, and they just bundled the stolen technology in with their set top box. Please, read and learn before you display your ignorance.
      • darwin 4 mths ago
        Whoa there Captain..... UncleWillie has a point.... how in the hell can Tivo patent digital recordings? They #$%$ sure didn't "invent" it. If AT&T used some of their code then ok I can see it but this seems to be that Tivo is laying claim to having invented the technology which isn't true by a very long shot. I suppose if I want to make a lot of money I could patent the Shoe.... I bet there isn't a patent on that..... I didn't invent the shoe but I guess if Tivo can collect for something they didn't invent I should be able to as well.., All I need is a fat group of lawyers
      • Lenny Smty 4 mths ago
        Tivo invented the user interface that was ripped off by every DVR peddler on the market. The myriad of lawsuit victories proves me right, btw.
    • Breadman  •  4 mths ago
      It seems that ATT has the money for buying out the competition, fines, lawsuits, and a host of other issues - but they cannot seem to find a dime to fix their network problems....
    • Kirk  •  4 mths ago
      This is like claiming to have a patent on Kleenex. The idea of the NAME is one thing, but the idea of wiping one's nose with a piece of tissue is universal.
    • Mr. G  •  4 mths ago
      guess I should expect a rate hike to pay for this....
    • Dwayne  •  4 mths ago
      I was a Tivo user for almost 10 years. Best interface in the business, worst customer service. If Tivo focused on their existing customers as acutely as they look for alleged patent infringement it would be a great product. I and many others kept having an error in the way Tivo would parse the downloaded guide information (S03 error). After 5+ years the resolution was to do a system reset, a kick start or disconnect the Tivo from downloading "for a few days". What rubbish. AT&T sucks for sure but Tivo doesn't give a rats#$%$ about it's customers. Look up Tivo S03 error on google and see how far it goes back. Not a single reliable fix. They also used to have an email system for support which in recent years they have removed. The fan boys will flame the hell out of you with almost the same fervor as Apple fans do if you complain about the lack of fix on Tivo's support forums or ask a question without the proper 'reverance' for the almighty Tivo. I'm with Dish Network and their box for now. Sucky interface but the unit works as it's supposed to and if it doesn't there is at least some semblance of customer service available.
    • GO BIG BLUE  •  Newcastle, Maine  •  4 mths ago
      Nice for tivo shareholders
    • John M  •  Jersey City, New Jersey  •  4 mths ago
      So now, no one can build a DVR without paying tivo for the patents, or being?
      Is there were ever a monopoly, tivo is the biggest of them all.
      • trisha 4 mths ago
        Well if AT&T and others didn't steal TiVo's ideas to build their product, they wouldn't have to pay. that is how patents work!
      • Lenny Smty 4 mths ago
        "Monopoly" would imply that there isn't any competition, which is patently false. There's TONS of competition. Competition that only exists because they stole Tivo's technology.
    • R.T. Arcand  •  Minneapolis, Minnesota  •  4 mths ago
      I've been recording to hard drives since I built my first AMD 386. Stuck an IBM TV card, (actually 3 cards if you include the vid card). Set the IRQs and DMAs. (Not always easy with limited settings) on Win 3.1 and DOS, and would record to some huge (in those days) 340 MB drives. Long before Tivo was ever around. Now I have 6 TB to record to on an Intel 6 core extreme. I laughed my #$%$ off when they invented the #$%$ thing and figured they'd tank pretty quick.
      • trisha 4 mths ago
        and they have the patent, not you
      • Lenny Smty 4 mths ago
        Does your user interface look like Tivo's? I'm guessing not. AT&T's does. *the more you know*
    • jOhn  •  4 mths ago
      I do not know how Tivo could patent DVR. The technology is very straight forward. It sounds like AT&T just didn't want to challenge it.
    • AJ  •  Mt Hamilton, California  •  4 mths ago
      Great... now license the Tivo interface to all the cable/sat companies already!
    • Candice  •  Guin, Alabama  •  4 mths ago
      Awesome, can't wait to see this reflected on my mobile bill.
    • MLB  •  4 mths ago
      Excellent! The "Evil Empire" gets dealt another blow.
    • Joe 6Pack  •  4 mths ago
      Great. I got a lifetime subscription with a Premier and it looks like they'll be around a long while. TiVo's the best.
    • sfebon  •  4 mths ago
      In this instance Tivo's stuff was revolutionary
    • Adoptedson32  •  Santa Clara, California  •  4 mths ago
      TiVo deserves it. My disgust of AT&T is almost as bad as my opinion of Bank of America as the slimiest corp in existence.
    • R.T. Arcand  •  Minneapolis, Minnesota  •  4 mths ago
      Windows Media Center does even more than TiVo without a subscription.
    • Bob  •  4 mths ago
      *time
    • Bob  •  4 mths ago
      There was a tome not that long ago when ATT was a technological leader, today they are a joke.
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