Court finds Videotron did not violate Rovi patents

The Federal Court dismissed a digital entertainment company’s lawsuit alleging that Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron infringed on its interactive television program guide (IPG) patents because the technology is part of the common knowledge of a skilled person. The court also granted Videotron’s counterclaim that the claims of Rovi Guides Inc.’s patents are “invalid on various grounds, including anticipation, obviousness, insufficiency, and ambiguity,” in its decision made earlier this month and publicly released on June 23. The dispute started in June 2017 Rovi and TiVo Solutions Inc. submitted a claim alleging that Videotron infringed on four and two of its patents respectively. TiVo lifted its claim in 2021. In 2010 Videotron entered into an Interactive Program Guide Patent Licence Agreement with Rovi, and launched illico New Generation (illico 2) in 2012. In 2016 the incumbent refused to renew its licence arrangement with Rovi, resulting in the lawsuit. Rovi sought an “accounting of profits” earned by Videotron or a “reasonable royalty,” as a result of the alleged patent infringement, according to the court documents. The case centres on Rovi Guides’ claim that Videotron is infringing on their copyright by selling its own set top box (STB) products. Rovi Guides, which holds several patents for TiVo used in STB products, is appealing a lower court decision that found it had no evidence to compel non-party entities to hand over information related to its patents. “At the heart of the patents is the concept of an IPG. At a high level, an IPG consists of software that generates for display television program listings and recorded content in electronic form that a user can navigate by electronic means,” according to the court documents. According to the court documents, the IPG patents were expired by the time the trial commenced. “I conclude that all of the asserted claims are invalid because they are either anticipated and/or obvious having regard to the prior art and the common general knowledge of the skilled person,” Justice Roger Lafrenière wrote in the decision. In a June 14 press release, Quebecor president and CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau said Rovi was patent trolling and that consideration should be given to adding anti-trolling provisions to the Patent Act. “This ruling is an important victory for Videotron and all technology companies that grapple with organizations whose practices are akin to those of patent trolls, which create no value for society and cost millions of dollars per year,” he stated. Rovi Guides has also filed similar lawsuits against BCE Inc. and Telus Corp.

Court finds Videotron did not violate Rovi patents

Brief | June 27, 2022

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Court finds Videotron did not violate Rovi patents

Brief | June 27, 2022

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