Gemstar, Digeo End EPG Patent Dispute

By Greg Tarr -- TWICE, 4/21/2008

New York — Gemstar-TV Guide International, which holds numerous patents to onscreen electronic program guides (EPGs), said Monday it has reached a patent license deal with cable TV set-top manufacturer Digeo, which effectively ends patent lawsuits between the two companies.

Exact monetary terms of the deal were not disclosed. However, Gemstar-TV Guide said it will provide Digeo with a patent license to cover Digeo’s currently deployed EPGs, as well as EPGs that Digeo plans to deploy with service providers and for use on consumer electronic and personal computer platforms.

Digeo makes a Moxi DVR set-top device which receives, decodes and records digital cable and Internet-delivered video programming.

Gemstar-TV Guide filed the patent infringement lawsuit against Digeo in October 2006, alleging the company’s Moxi interactive television program guide infringed upon patents it owned. Digeo later filed a countersuit against Gemstar-TV Guide alleging it had infringed some of Digeo’s EPG technology patents.