Motorola settles DVR patent infringement suit with TiVo
The settlement heads off a patent trial scheduled for next week that TiVo expected would result in billions of dollars in damages.
Motorola has settled a patent-infringement lawsuit with TiVo over digital-video recording technology ahead of a patent trial scheduled to begin next week.
TiVo filed a patent-infringement claim against Motorola last October, saying that the Google-owned company's set-top boxes infringed on its patents related to DVR functionality. TiVo argued that were the court to rule in its favor, the "damages claim is likely to run into the billions of dollars."
The settlement, which was first reported by Bloomberg, was confirmed by a Motorola spokesperson, who declined to offer details of the settlement.
"We're pleased that all parties involved have reached an agreement to resolve pending litigation," Motorola said in a statement.
CNET has contacted TiVo for comment and will update this report when we learn more. Word of the settlement sent shares in the Alviso, Calif.-based company up $1.05, or 8.3 percent, to close at $13.71.
The damages threat apparently hung over the head of Google, which bought Motorola in May 2012 for $12.5 billion, while it was shopping around its Motorola set-top box business last year. To seal the $2.35 billion deal, Google largely indemnified Arris against potential losses in a Motorola-TiVo patent tussle.
During the last couple of years, TiVo has won major settlements from competitors, including $500 million from Dish Network and more than $250 million last year from Verizon. TiVo sought more from Motorola because the company claims "Motorola's massive production of infringing DVRs dwarfs the numbers of accused products at issue in TiVo's previous cases."