Sunday, October 15, 2006

Gemstar sues Digeo

After having sued others over patents, Digeo has now been sued by Gemstar-TV Guide.

From Reuters: The lawsuit says Digeo's Moxi interactive program guide infringes Gemstar-TV Guide's interactive program guide patents. The suit also accused cable operator Charter Communications of deploying Moxi guides.

Gemstar said it filed the lawsuit on Friday after negotiations over a patent license for Digeo failed and the company filed an antitrust lawsuit against Gemstar.

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Gerry Van Zandt emailed the following information:

Digeo has not seen a copy of the complaint and, therefore, cannot comment on it. [IPBiz note: under federal law, a complaint (in federal court) can be filed with the court well in advance of service on the defendant.]

Gemstar’s lawsuit is an apparent reaction to the federal antitrust lawsuit that Digeo filed against Gemstar in Seattle, Washington on September 28. Digeo’s lawsuit seeks injunctive relief and damages caused by Gemstar’s anticompetitive business and licensing practices and by Gemstar’s ongoing monopolization and attempted monopolization of relevant markets through exclusionary and unlawful acts. Digeo contends that Gemstar’s anticompetitive practices, including its demands that Digeo accede to unlawful licensing terms, have caused injury to competition, consumers and innovation related to interactive program guides.

Digeo disagrees with a reported statement by a Gemstar executive claiming that Gemstar’s lawsuit was the result of Digeo’s alleged refusal to negotiate. It was Gemstar that demanded anticompetitive licensing terms and refused to provide meaningful options to Digeo. Gemstar’s licensing demands to Digeo only reinforce the legitimacy of Digeo’s allegations in its federal antitrust lawsuit against Gemstar.

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