S-A Wins IPG Ruling vs. Gemstar

Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc. suffered yet another defeat in its
continuing legal tiff with cable-gear provider Scientific-Atlanta Inc.

A U.S. District Court judge in Georgia’s Northern District granted S-A’s
motion for a summary judgment against the interactive-programming-guide provider
Monday, ruling that S-A’s set-top boxes do not infringe on two Gemstar-TV Guide
patents.

The judge also ruled that Gemstar-TV Guide cannot make any further
infringement claims against S-A related to the two patents because it failed to
meet the claim deadlines set by the court.

But it doesn’t end the legal battle between the two companies: There are
still outstanding claims lodged by both sides related to other patent
issues.

This marked the second court defeat in one month for Gemstar-TV Guide
regarding IPG intellectual property. In June, the Atlanta District Court found
that the company didn’t have the standing to enforce a patent claim against
EchoStar Communications Corp.

But the IPG provider has taken steps recently to settle other outstanding
legal suits, reaching agreements with set-top-box makers Thomson Consumer
Electronics and TiVo Inc.