The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) continued to see the filing of petitions for inter partes review (IPR) against publicly traded NPEs in March 2017, including Acacia Research Corporation; Finjan Holdings, Inc.; Pendrell Corporation; TiVo Corporation (formerly known as Rovi Corporation); and Wi-LAN Inc. (WiLAN). A variety of prolific, privately held NPEs were also targeted for IPR throughout March, including Blackbird Tech LLC, General Patent Corporation, IP Edge LLC, Realtime Data LLC, and Papst Licensing GmbH & Company Kg, along with several inventors and inventor-controlled NPEs and an assortment of other plaintiffs.

Comcast has filed a declaratory judgment action against Rovi Corporation and three of its subsidiaries (1:16-cv-03852), a month after getting hit by Rovi with an ITC complaint and two district court lawsuits. In an action filed in the Southern District of New York, Comcast seeks a judgment of non-infringement for the fifteen Rovi patents asserted against it. The complaint also contains multiple claims for relief stemming from Rovi’s alleged breach of two choice of forum clauses contained in licensing agreements between the companies. Comcast asserts that these clauses mandated that Rovi file any actions against it in New York, which Rovi purportedly breached by filing in Texas.

This week Rovi Corporation filed two lawsuits against Comcast, the first of the so-called “Big Four” pay TV companies not to renew its license to Rovi’s patent portfolio before expiration. Investors have been watching since at least the beginning of 2015 whether DISH (Echostar), DirecTV (now owned by AT&T), Comcast, and Time Warner Cable (nearing possible acquisition by Charter) would extend or renew license agreements entered into years ago with Rovi (or its predecessors). The plaintiffs are three Rovi subsidiaries—Rovi Guides, Inc.; Rovi Technologies Corporation; and Veveo, Inc.—each of which owns some of the 14 patents-in-suit. The defendants are Comcast and DVR and set-top box manufacturers ARRIS (Pace), Humax, and Technicolor. Comcast is accused of infringement through provision of its Xfinity television products and services, including its X1 interactive program guide.