TIVO TiVo Corporation

   By Patrick Thomas 
 

TiVo Corp. (TIVO) said Tuesday that an International Trade Commission judge ruled that Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) had infringed on some of its technology patents.

Shares of Tivo rose 8% during after-market trading.

The San Jose, Calif.-based entertainment-technology company alleged that Comcast's X1 platform infringes on patents secured by Rovi Corp., which acquired TiVo in 2016 for $1.1 billion.

However, a Comcast spokeswoman said Tuesday's initial determination was a victory because the judge found no violations as to two of the three patents addressed.

"We look forward to the full Commission's review of the one remaining patent later this year, but we are confident, regardless, this ruling will not disrupt our service to our customers," she said.

The latest decision is the second favorable ITC determination the company has received from the ITC, TiVo said. In 2017, the ITC issued a ruling that Comcast had infringed two Rovi patents. Comcast subsequently elected to remove the feature from its products, Tivo said.

An ITC judge is also studying whether Comcast products including its X1 Sports App and multi-room DVR features infringe on additional Rovi patents, Tivo said.

TiVo develops devices for television, including an product that allows consumers to both show live television and access more than 20 streaming apps. It is best known for pioneering the digital video recorder, allowing shows to be easily recorded.

"We hope that today's decision will encourage Comcast to pay the necessary licensing fees so their customers can once again access advanced cable features," Arvin Patel, TiVo's chief intellectual property officer, said in a statement.

Write to Patrick Thomas at patrick.thomas@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 04, 2019 20:05 ET (00:05 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.