Intellectual Property Law

The longstanding rivalry between media giants Rupert Murdoch and Richard Branson has taken another turn this week, as Murdoch-owned company Gemstar embarks on patent litigation proceedings in the High Court against Virgin Media. Gemstar is a US TV listings business that is partly owned by News Corporation, and the litigation centres around three European patents that Gemstar claims are infringed by Virgin Media: EP0969662, EP1377049, and EP1613066.

The patent claims relate to techniques for providing interactive program guides (IPGs) and for handling recordings from IPGs.

In a Gemstar press release, Samir Armaly, executive vice president, intellectual property and licensing,  was quoted as saying:

"We have worked diligently to license Virgin Media for their distribution of various set-top boxes that contain IPGs covered by our patents, but negotiations did not lead to a resolution. The substantial value of our European patent portfolio has been recognized by leading service providers as well as leading consumer electronics manufacturers in the UK and throughout Europe. While we would have preferred to reach a commercial solution with Virgin Media, we ultimately have a responsibility to our shareholders, licensees, and other stakeholders to protect the value of our intellectual property"

Virgin Media have apparently retorted:

"We are confident the courts will see Gemstar's action for what it is: a piece of flagrant opportunism. We have been advised by our external counsel that the case is without merit and we will defend it vigorously"

See, for example, the article in The Independent.

Both parties seem equally confident about their respective positions, however, it appears that the validity of the patents may be open to attack, and, as IPKat quite rightly points out, ultimately the outcome will depend upon what the patents can validly claim and how far the parties want to take the matter.

 

The Independent