ActiveVideo Guns for FiOS TV InjunctionActiveVideo Guns for FiOS TV Injunction

ActiveVideo is taking its legal battle with Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) up a notch.

A week after ActiveVideo was awarded $115 million in damages following a jury trial with the telco centered on a handful of patents, the video software and apps vendor followed through Friday with its promise to file an injunction against Verizon's FiOS TV service. (See ActiveVideo Wins $115M Case Against Verizon and ActiveVideo Seeks Injunction Against Verizon FiOS.)

The vendor is seeking a court order that would stop Verizon from using interactive TV applications, including video on demand (VoD), that ActiveVideo believes are violating four patents that were the subject of the jury trial:

"We insist that Verizon immediately cease its unlawful use of the patented technology developed by the employees and investors of ActiveVideo Networks," vendor President and CEO Jeff Miller said, in a release.

"There is no basis for an injunction," a Verizon spokeswoman told Light Reading Cable via email, noting that ActiveVideo has not shared a copy of its motion with Verizon. The telco has already asserted that it will appeal the $115 million verdict and won't be paying a dime while the appeal is underway.

Why this matters
A successful injunction could cripple Verizon FiOS TV, a service it's wielding against Cablevision Systems Corp. (NYSE: CVC), which (go figure) happens to be one of ActiveVideo's largest customers.

And it's just the latest injunction sought between the three companies. In a separate case, the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) recently affirmed that Cablevision was violating a Verizon patent that could block the MSO from importing several digital set-top box models made by Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO).

For more
Bone up on the litigious twists and turns among ActiveVideo, Cablevision and Verizon.

— Jeff Baumgartner, Site Editor, Light Reading Cable