TiVo CEO: Must Stop Unauthorized Use Of Intellectual Property

NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- TiVo Inc. (TIVO) needs to move quickly to stop the unauthorized use of its intellectual property, according to Chief Executive Tom Rogers.

TiVo earlier Wednesday said it had filed a patent lawsuit against AT&T Inc. ( T) and Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) for their use of digital video recorders and TV "time-warping" technology.

Rogers told analysts during a conference call Wednesday that TiVo had attempted to strike deals with the telecommunications providers.

It is a similar lawsuit to the one TiVo filed against Dish Network Corp. ( DISH) and EchoStar Corp. (SATS). TiVo continues to deal with an appeal from those companies in a Texas federal court. Rogers said confidence is high on the prospects of the appeal, allowing him to feel comfortable enough to launch another legal attack.

While EchoStar and Dish trumpeted a minor victory in a similar case in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office earlier Wednesday, Rogers said the company hasn't yet presented its information and believes that it will ultimately prevail.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office case shouldn't affect the other appeals hearing, he said.

As a result of the new lawsuits, Chief Financial Officer Anna Brunelle said she expects higher legal costs.

-By Roger Cheng, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2153; roger.cheng@dowjones.com

  (END) Dow Jones Newswires
 08-26-09 1806ET
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