There is now a conclusion to the patent dispute between Apple and software company OpenTV. Back in March Apple lost its case brought on by OpenTV in a German court ruling, and today OpenTV owners Kudelski Group announced that the two companies have reached a patent license agreement and all pending litigation has stopped.
Reuters reports this evening that a German court has ruled against Apple in a case centered around video streaming patents owned by OpenTV. Kudelski’s OpenTV unit originally sued Apple over the patents in 2014, alleging that Apple was infringing on its patents with streaming technologies used in iOS, OS X, iAds, the App Store, iTunes, and on Apple TV.
Apple is facing a lawsuit from OpenTV, a company that creates interactive television technology, over five patents the latter claims the Cupertino company violated in the iTunes software. The protected technology in question relates to how Apple streams movies from its servers to end users.
The suit claims this technology was legally licensed to other companies, including Microsoft and Google, but not Apple. OpenTV was named as a party in a separate lawsuit against Apple earlier this year. That suit dealt with video playback technology in iOS and OS X and other products, including iTunes and iAds.
Photo: mashable.com
Suing Apple seems to be the thing to do these days. While the company is locked into a furious, seemingly-unending battle with Samsung, another suit has been announced today by two Swiss sister companies called OpenTV and Nagravision.
According to a press release by the The Kudelski Group, the parent company of the two filing suit, OpenTV focuses on software that includes “advanced program guides, video-on-demand, personal video recording, interactive and addressable advertising and a variety of enhanced television applications,” while Nagravision “provides security and multiscreen user experience solutions for the monetization of digital media.”
While the five patents in question aren’t specifically named in the press release, it’s safe to assume that they are related to video playback technologies included in OS X and iOS (both of which are named as infringing in the press release). iAds, iTunes, the App Store, and the Apple TV are also listed.