Adverting a trial scheduled to begin next week, TiVo and Google’s Motorola Mobility have settled a patent dispute. No terms have been announced, but analysts predict that TiVo may have received nearly a billion dollars, assuming six years of damages for patent infringement by Motorola Mobility.
In its October 2012 filing, TiVo claimed that Motorola Mobility’s set top division may owe it “billions of dollars” based on devices sold to Time Warner Cable alone. The newest settlement may nearly double the $1 billion the company has received from Dish and Verizon from patent royalties.
TiVo stock jumped to $13.71 in after-hours trading on news of the settlement. The stock is now at the highest point it has attained in three years. One more case involving TiVo patents is scheduled for next year against Cisco, also for DVR boxes sold to Time Warner.
Motorola Mobility’s set top division is being sold to the Arris Group. Under the terms of the purchase from Google, Arris is only liable for $50 million of the settlement, with Google shouldering the rest of any payout.
