Although Gemstar-TV Guide is in the process of being sold by News Corp. (NYSE:NWS-A) to Macrovision, it is the second company under its corporate umbrella to file a lawsuit against Virgin Media. The two companies don't have a lot of love for one another, as they've been in a bitter dispute in the British television market for some time.
The lawsuit centers around the software used to develop interactive program guides used across various media platforms. Gemstar claimed in a statement that it has "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.
“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 cited their attorneys, who they allege told them the case has no merit, and concluded, “We are confident the courts will see Gemstar’s action for what it is: a piece of flagrant opportunism. We’ve been advised by our external counsel that the case is without merit and we will defend against it vigorously.”
The other battle started when BSkyB surprised Virgin Media by buying a 17.9 percent stake in ITV, which generated lawsuits and a lot of bad blood between News Corp. (which owns BSkyB) and Virgin Media.
Comment Preview