HDTV Almanac - Microsoft Sues TiVo; So What?

Started by alfredpoor • Jan 25, 2011 • 3 posts

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#1 Jan 25, 2011 at 1:00 pm

The story is breaking that Microsoft has sued TiVo for alleged patent infringements. What fascinates me is that so many industry pundits are ready to jump in with an explanation of the suit and its implications for the two companies and their markets. Here’s what I think we know for sure about this lawsuit:
We’ll probably [...]

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#2 Feb 1, 2011 at 2:50 am

Current cost for an ITC action per side is about $15 million

#3 Feb 1, 2011 at 1:36 pm

Thanks for the $15 million figure. I knew a lot of money was required, but I didn't know that it was that much.

This leads me to guess that Microsoft is serious about this on some level, though that amount of cash is a drop in the bucket of their reserves. I don't know if $15 million is enough to hurt TiVo or not; the company has posted $10 to $20 million losses for each of the last four quarters. The balance sheet shows a bit more than $200 million in cash reserves. Fighting the ITC action would seem to take a good bite out of these funds, so maybe the leverage favors Microsoft.

Alfred