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TiVo Relaunching As a Patent Troll?

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the i-thought-we-could-be-friends dept.

An anonymous reader writes "TiVo's quarterly call was a bit more dramatic than usual. While they continue to lose customers and innovate 'at a very unhurried pace,' TiVo seeks a repeat DISH Network performance in going after AT&T (T) and Verizon (VZ) for infringement. Basically, TiVo's current business model appears to be ad sales and patent trolling."

2 of 335 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Not all that trollish! by DragonWriter · · Score: 4, Informative

    So the originator should be the only one to produce that item and should have the market to themselves? Thats ridiculous.

    Ridiculous or not, that the whole idea of patents, as a means of providing a reward for innovation and thereby encouraging innovation. To quote the provision of the US Constitution enabling patents and copyrights: "The Congress shall have the power [...] [t]o promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries."

    Thats like only have Ford cars

    Well, if Ford had invented the car, sure, it would be like only having Ford cars for a brief period after Ford invented them.

  2. Re:TiVo was cool... by wperry1 · · Score: 3, Informative

    The are at lease trying to get into those markets. The already offer Netflix streaming and you can purchase or rent content from Amazon. Hopefully they will continue to expand these options into content from sites like Hulu. I'd hate to lose my Tivo box because they went out of business.