TiVo receives $215 million patent settlement from AT&T

A two-year long lawsuit between TiVo and AT&T over DVR patents has come to a close, with AT&T agreeing to pay TiVo at least $215 million over the next seven years, beginning with an initial payment of $51 million. The rest will come over time, but should AT&T's subscriber base increase, that $215 million number would also rise. The case has been fully dismissed and, as usual, the two companies have agreed to cross-license their relevant patents.

TiVo has already settled a similar lawsuit with Dish Network and Echostar to the tune of $500 million, while a suit against Verizon is still ongoing. TiVo CEO Tom Rogers was "extremely pleased" to have this settlement wrapped up — hopefully enough to allow him to focus on expanding TiVo subscriber base into cable and satellite channels with more deals like the small DirecTV release that finally became a reality late last year.