Rovi sues Amazon and IMDb for infringing TV guide patents
Rovi sounds friendly enough, but the company used to be called Macrovision -- and the infamous DRM provider just sued Amazon's IMDb.com last week for infringement of five TV guide patents. The patents came along with Rovi's acquisition of Gemstar, and they cover everything from interactive program guides to purchasing products on-demand to scheduling recordings from a computer -- a huge range that seems to hit everything from QVC to the Xfinity TV iPad app. That probably explains why Rovi says it has deals with everyone from Apple to Yahoo -- between its TV listings products, recent purchase of a sizable video library, and the current litigation with IMDb, it appears that the company is serious about leaving its DRM-centric roots behind and moving into internet content distribution.
