Why Did TiVo And Microsoft Stop Fighting?

The long saga of lawsuits and countersuits between Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and TiVo (NASDAQ:TIVO) has ended, at least for now. A Thursday regulatory statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission says the two companies have settled all pending patent litigation between each other.

In 2009, TiVo first sued AT&T (NYSE:T), a Microsoft Internet video partner, for allegedly using its “time-warping” technology. The next year, Microsoft claimed in a San Francisco federal court that TiVo was violating patents related to video purchasing and delivery held by the former. In 2011, Microsoft again filed a complaint against the digital-video-recorder company, this time with the International Trade Commission, asking the regulatory body to ban the sale of TiVos in the U.S. because of licensing issues.

In January, AT&T had agreed to settle a separate patent litigation with TiVo by paying at least $215 million. That settlement may have made Microsoft’s claims against TiVo unnecessary. AT&T’s U-Verse TV service runs on Microsoft’s Internet video technology.

TiVo may now be turning its time and expenses to a patent case against Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ), Evercore Partners analyst Alan Gould told the Wall Street Journal.

TiVo also settled a seven-year-old case against Dish Network (NASDAQ:DISH) and EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) by walking away with $500 million. TiVo’s stock gained 36 percent last year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Aabha Rathee at staff.writers@wallstcheatsheet.com

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Damien Hoffman at editors@wallstcheatsheet.com