TiVo Beats VIVO in CourtTiVo Beats VIVO in Court

TiVo's global reputation leads to victory in trademark lawsuit against Australian TV manufacturer

April 13, 2012

2 Min Read

ALVISO, Calif. -- TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO), known globally as the creator of and a leader in advanced television services including digital video recorders (DVRs), announced today that an Australia Federal Court ruling has acknowledged TiVo's worldwide recognition and upheld the exclusive rights of the TiVo trademark. This decision, against VIVO International Corporation Pty Ltd, an Australian-based television manufacturer, vindicates the broad and enforceable nature of TiVo's worldwide trademark rights at a time when TiVo continues to drive impressive, international subscriber growth.

"This ruling validates the notoriety and reputation of TiVo across the world as it relates to the continually innovative consumer electronics industry," said Matt Zinn, Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Secretary and Chief Privacy Officer for TiVo Inc. "We are pleased that the court found TiVo's long standing reputation as a leader in advanced television to be fundamentally unique and this case should serve as a warning to others who, intentionally or unintentionally, seek to capitalize on the TiVo trademark for their own benefits."

Her Honour Justice Dodds-Streeton found TiVo to have established a strong reputation in Australia for "its advantages and novel features" and as demonstrated by substantial mentions in national media and popular culture entertainment. Finding that the substantial reputation of the TiVo mark preceded the launch of the TiVo product in Australia in 2008, the court ruled that VIVO's adoption of the VIVO mark even prior to TiVo's 2008 commercial rollout in Australia, infringed TiVo's rights. As a result of the findings, the court ordered that VIVO should be removed from the trademark registry and that further use of the VIVO mark would constitute continued infringement of the TiVo mark. TiVo agreed to a temporary stay of the order pending the court's determination, whether to allow an appeal by VIVO.

TiVo Inc. (Nasdaq: TIVO)

Subscribe and receive the latest news from the industry.
Join 62,000+ members. Yes it's completely free.

You May Also Like