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 18th time since 2006.
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SOURCE Videotron Ltd.