Federal Court of Appeal rules in favour of Videotron in patent dispute with ROVI

MONTRÉAL, Aug. 19, 2024 /CNW/ - Videotron welcomes the Federal Court of Appeal decision upholding a lower-court ruling that several patents held by U.S. company Adeia Guides Inc. (formerly known as ROVI), which were allegedly infringed by the technology in Videotron's illico terminal, are invalid. The decision was handed down on August 6 and made public on August 16.

"This Federal Court of Appeal ruling confirming the egregious nature of ROVI's practices sends a message to tech companies that it's time to stand up to these patent trolls, which demand outrageously expensive licenses for patents that are ultimately found to be invalid," commented Pierre Karl Péladeau, President and CEO of Quebecor. "This type of tactic is a real problem for our economy. Bear in mind that the patent system was created to protect inventions and reward innovation. Quebecor and Videotron will continue to vigorously defend their interests, as we do in fighting piracy and counterfeiting."

The Federal Court had ruled in favour of Videotron in this case in 2022 but ROVI decided to appeal. In its original lawsuit, ROVI accused Videotron of using its patented technologies for features such as pausing television, rewinding live broadcasts, programming and saving recordings, and synchronizing settings with various TV guides. Videotron argued that these inventions were known and obvious, and existed long before ROVI filed its patents in 1999.

The Federal Court of Appeal upheld the trial judge's finding that the technologies at issue were part of the general knowledge of any person skilled in the art.

About Videotron

Videotron, a wholly owned subsidiary of Quebecor Media Inc., is an integrated communications company engaged in television, entertainment, Internet access, wireline telephone and mobile telephone services. With the acquisition of Freedom Mobile Inc., Videotron became Canada's fourth strong and competitive national mobile carrier. As of June 30, 2024, Videotron and Freedom had a combined total of 3,918,600 mobile lines. Videotron is also a leader in new technologies with its Helix home entertainment and management platform, and is the Québec leader in high-speed Internet access. As of June 30, 2024, Videotron had 1,321,900 subscribers to its television service, 1,722,500 subscribers to its Internet service, and 643,400 connections to its wireline telephony service. In Léger's 2024 Reputation survey, Videotron was ranked the most respected telecom provider in Québec for the 18^th time since 2006.

SOURCE Videotron Ltd.