TiVo 2006 Annual Report Download - page 15

Table of Contents
support or embrace the TiVo technology due to a belief that our technology's ability to fast-forward through commercials will reduce the effectiveness of
general television advertising.
Patents and Intellectual Property
We have filed patent applications relating to many critical aspects of the design, functionality, and operation of TiVo products and services. We have
been awarded approximately 102 foreign and domestic patents and have approximately 158 foreign and domestic patent applications pending. We have also
filed patent applications related to technology that we may incorporate in future versions of our products and services. Patents we hold the rights to include:
• U.S. patent number 6,327,418, entitled Method and Apparatus Implementing Random Access and Time-Based Functions on a Continuous Stream
of Formatted Digital Data, originally filed on April 3, 1998, which describes a method of controlling streaming media in a digital device,
including the functions that enable DVRs to pause live TV as well as rewind, fast-forward, play, play faster, play slower, and play in reverse
television signals cached by the DVR. We refer to this as the "TrickPlay" patent. The expiration date of the TrickPlay patent is April 3, 2018.
• U.S. patent number 6,792,195 entitled Method and Apparatus Implementing Random Access and Time-Based Functions on a Continuous Stream
of Formatted Digital Data, which is a continuation of the TrickPlay patent. The expiration date of this patent is likewise April 3, 2018.
• U.S. patent 6,233,389, entitled Multimedia Time Warping System, originally filed on July 30, 1998, which describes many of the key inventions
associated with the TiVo-enabled DVR software and hardware design. We refer to this as the "TimeWarp" patent. Key inventions claimed in the
patent include a method for recording one program while playing back another or watching a program as it is recording, often referred to as time-
shifting the program; a method for efficient and low-cost processing and synchronizing of the various multimedia streams in a television signal
such as video, audio, and closed-captioning, and a storage format that easily supports advanced TrickPlay capabilities. The expiration date of the
TimeWarp patent is July 30, 2018.
TiVo has also acquired the exclusive right to license and enforce U.S. patent number 5,241,428 entitled Variable-Delay Video Recorder known in the
industry as the Goldwasser Patent. Filed in March 1991, the Goldwasser Patent is one of the earliest patents regarding digital video recorders of which we are
aware. This patent covers devices that permit the simultaneous recording and playback of video material with a variable time delay between recording and
playback of a given video program segment. The expiration date of the Goldwasser Patent is March 12, 2011.
We have also purchased 12 foreign and domestic patents and 6 foreign patent applications from International Business Machines Corporation, or IBM.
These patents and patent applications generally relate to audience research measurement, integration of television signals with internet access, automatic
rescheduling of recordings, content screening, enhanced program information search, and electronic program guide interface enhancements.
Additionally, on September 28, 2006, we entered into a patent cross license agreement with IBM, under which we paid certain cash considerations to
IBM, and each party granted to the other a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to such party's patents that are entitled to a priority date on or before
September 28, 2006, including all patents and patent applications in existence as of that date with limited exceptions. The license granted by IBM to us
extends to all products other than general purpose data processing products and data storage devices that are primarily sold separately from other hardware.
The license that we granted to IBM extends to all products, other than digital media recorders and digital media recorder software. No license was granted,
directly or by implication, to permit the combination of any product with any other item.
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