To settle patent infringement accusations from TiVo Inc., Verizon Inc. has agreed to pay $250.4 million and enter into a licensing agreement. The companies resolved their dispute just in time, as the lawsuit was set to go to trial in October.
TiVo has been procuring settlements left and right in recent years, after accusing many of its rivals of infringing patents related to the digital video recording (DVR) technology that it pioneered. Settlement money from Dish Network Corp. and its set-top box provider EchoStar Corp. as well as AT&T has poured into TiVo's coffers. In this latest settlement, Verizon will pay Tivo $100 million initially, and then make quarterly payments until July 2018 that add up to the remaining $150.4 million. Verizon also has agreed to cough up monthly licensing fees for each of its DVR subscribers if the growth of its subscriber base exceeds a certain level.
All these settlements are incredibly valuable to struggling TiVo, which has been unprofitable for eight of the past 10 years. The company has stated that the deals are bringing it closer to profitability, and indeed, the announcement of the Verizon settlement sent TiVo shares up by 7 percent.
Read more at the Associated Press.
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