TiVo-Favored Security Vulnerable to Patent Litigation, NCTA Says as it Celebrates Integration Ban End

The type of downloadable security supported by TiVo in the report from the FCC Downloadable Security Technology Advisory Committee would open up retail set-top box manufacturers that use a guide combined with a DVR to being sued by the company for patent infringement, said NCTA in an ex parte filing posted Tuesday in docket 15-64. It responded to Media Bureau questions about the recordability of multichannel video programming distributor content. “Some observers have noted that TiVo is seeking to ‘preserve its lucrative patent business’ by increasing manufacturer exposure to its patent claims,” NCTA said. The app-based approach favored by MVPDs isn’t as exposed to patent lawsuits, NCTA said. Also in a blog post Wednesday, NCTA said the set-top security/navigation integration ban will sunset Friday under the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act Reauthorization. “The Integration Ban was an unnecessary technology mandate from the late 1990’s that cost billions of dollars with no real consumer benefit,” NCTA said: “The STELAR legislation approved overwhelmingly by a bipartisan Congress is significant because it recognizes that innovation in the television industry shouldn’t be held back by a mandate that penalizes one sector (cable operators) while others are free to experiment.” The ban’s sunset doesn’t mean cable companies will stop supporting CableCARDs, the association said. “In the end, we want customers to access their favorite content however they want. And if that means supporting CableCARDs to decrypt video signals in retail devices, then that’s exactly what we’ll do.” TiVo had no immediate comment Wednesday.