Patent fights are nothing new in the world of technology, and now Hulu and TiVo are once again going at it. This time though, Hulu is trying to get out of a patent deal.
According to Hulu it wants a California court to allow a deal with TiVo to expire because Hulu says the patents have expired, are no longer valid, or are linked to a service that Hulu no longer offers.
“Since the parties signed that agreement, circumstances have changed such that Hulu doubts the applicability of the TiVo Defendants’ patents to Hulu, the validity of patents, and the market value of a license to the portfolio,” Hulu said in the complaint.
The fight seems to be over the IV patent portfolio—the same portfolio of patents that Roku recently renewed. Other companies have also agreed to pay TiVo for these patents including Netflix and HBO.
It seems Hulu wants to break free of these patents. The question now is can it successfully break free. If it can, that would give Hulu some capital that is currently tied up in paying TiVo for what it says are patents that are expired or are no longer needed.
Source: MultiChannel News
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