Chalk up a patent win for Amazon. The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has ruled that Amazon isn’t infringing on a pair of patents owned by Rovi Corporation, which specializes in programming guides and analytics for video content.
In a decision made public this week, the appeals court held that the patents in question don’t relate to television programming over the Internet, but rather live TV programming, which is in line with an earlier District Court ruling in the case.
Unsurprisingly, Rovi isn’t thrilled by the outcome. Samir Armaly, the company’s Executive Vice President for Worldwide Intellectual Property and Licensing, said in a press release that Rovi’s patent portfolio is “even more relevant” to Amazon, following the launch of the Fire TV set-top box last week.
Rovi has a mixed record with its patents, which it acquired after buying Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc. in 2008. The company also sued Roku and Netflix, but a judge at the U.S. International Trade Commission ruled that those companies did not infringe on Rovi’s patents. Vizio and Mitsubishi Electronics have settled patent litigation with Rovi in the past, and it has licensing agreements with LG and Hulu.
Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The court’s ruling is embedded below.
