Rovi Sues Comcast for Patent Infringement

SAN CARLOS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Rovi Corporation (NASDAQ: ROVI) today filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Comcast in the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall Division.

"Today, Rovi filed legal action against Comcast," said Tom Carson, president and CEO, Rovi. "For over a decade, Comcast built its business using Rovi's patented technology, which it licensed for a fixed term. Comcast's decision to continue using Rovi's pioneering technology as an unlicensed infringer is simply intolerable. After numerous attempts at negotiations, Rovi was left with no choice but to defend its intellectual property from unlicensed use. Rovi has taken this action to protect not only its patent portfolio, but also its stakeholders and licensees. While we are disappointed that Comcast remains unlicensed, we believe it needs a license to offer many of its personalized discovery features to its customers."

In its filings today, Rovi asserts infringement by Comcast, together with its set-top box suppliers, of 14 U.S. patents that together deliver the most important features to Comcast customers. These features include, for example, the way that Comcast implements remote recording, AnyRoom® DVR and X1 search. Rovi seeks both an injunction barring continued infringement and damages to compensate it for the harm inflicted by that infringement.

Over the past quarter century, Rovi has invested over a billion dollars in research and development for its products and intellectual property to create one of the world's largest media and entertainment patent portfolios comprised of more than 5,000 issued patents and pending applications worldwide. Today, Rovi's intellectual property is broadly licensed throughout the North American pay-TV industry and by eight of the top 10 U.S. service providers, including the world's largest pay-TV provider, AT&T, in addition to Time Warner Cable and Charter Communications. At the end of 2015, more than 180 million pay-TV subscribers around the world relied on the entertainment discovery experiences enabled by Rovi's intellectual property.

Rovi has not changed its financial estimates for 2016, which were issued on February 11, 2016 and anticipated possible litigation with Comcast. Rovi's estimates planned for legal expenses and excluded any licensing or advertising revenues from Comcast after March 31, 2016.

About Rovi Corporation

Rovi Corporation (NASDAQ: ROVI) is creating personalized and data-driven ways for viewers to discover the right entertainment and for providers to discover the right audiences. Chosen by top brands in entertainment content, services and devices, Rovi touches the lives of hundreds of millions of consumers by providing comprehensive solutions, customizable products and technology licensing to make discovery simple, seamless and personal. With more than 5,000 issued or pending patents worldwide, Rovi is advancing entertainment and audience discovery. Learn more at rovicorp.com, or follow us on Twitter @rovicorp.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

All statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact, including statements that use the words "will" or "is expected to," or similar words that describe Rovi Corporation's or its management's future plans, objectives or goals, are "forward-looking statements" and are made pursuant to the Safe-Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause the actual results of Rovi Corporation to be materially different from the historical results and/or from any future results or outcomes expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors are further addressed in Rovi Corporation's most recent report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2015, and such other documents as are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time (available at www.sec.gov). Rovi Corporation assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this release, except as required by law.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160401005204/en/