TiVo Buys Six New Patents From IBM

Thomas Hawk writes "TiVo reported in an 8-K filing today that on March 31, 2005 they purchased six new patents from IBM. The patents purchased reportedly have to do with audience research and measurement, integration of television signals with internet access, automatic rescheduling of recordings, content screening, enhanced program information search and electronic program guide interface enhancements. For those of you privacy advocates out there you will love Patent No. 5,872,588: Method and apparatus for monitoring audio-visual materials presented to a subscriber. " The link has very little additional information.

Comments

Re:Interestingly

[ZephyrXero]

This is exactly the problem with our patent system! You should not be able to buy a patent!!! The whole idea of a patent is that an inventor has came up with something new and needs a time of leadway (not permanent) to get his product to market before other people and businesses try to compete with him. This is also why corporations should not be allowed to hold patents...it defeats the entire reason behind them existing in the first place! (And in a 100% capitalist society there would be no patents, so don't give me any of that "you're a communist shit")