Forgent Networks, which has so far garnered more than $100 million dollars in fees on its so-called JPEG patent, is going after the digital video recorder industry.
The Austin, Texas-based maker of licensing and scheduling software owns four patents it claims give it the right to collect royalties on computers or similar devices, such as those made by market leader TiVo, that record, store and play back video- and audio-transmitted signals. While three of the patents primarily involve videoconferencing systems, patent No. 6,674,960 specifically addresses recording television signals to a computer.
The patents also predate patents and other intellectual property owned by other companies, Forgent Chief Financial Officer Jay Peterson said in an interview. "You"ll see activity on the DVR (digital video recorder) patents in the next three to nine months," he said. "We"ve got an early file date." The patents haven"t been tested in court, and it"s unknown whether patents held by others predate Forgent"s claims, thereby invalidating them.