April 06, 2005
Tivo Acquires Six Patents from IBM
It's pretty clear which direction Tivo is going these days. After getting squeezed out by DirectTV and probably signing a low rate deal with Comcast, the company is going on a patent buying spree. Today it acquired 6 patents from IBM covering interactive television. How much you want to bet we'll see Tivo try to become a Rambus or a Gemstar and start sicking their lawyers onto people? Remember Tivo has a ton of PVR patents that cover the basic essentials. With good lawyers they can probably pull it off.The acquired patents cover audience measurement, the integration of Internet and TV, automatic scheduling of recording, content screening, information search and electronic program guide enhancements, TiVo said. TiVo spokesman David Shane said the company "placed great emphasis on developing and protecting our intellectual property, and we believe these patents will help us toward that end."
