German court finds Apple in infringement of streaming patents

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By Larry Banks

A court in Germany has rules Apple infringed digital content streaming patents from OpenTV, adding that products using the technology cannot be sold in the country.

The Dusseldorf District Court gave the ruling in favour of Kudelski Group’s OpenTV this week, finding that the iPhone maker infringed on patents related to delivering digital content to electronic devices. The suit targest iTunes, the App Store, Apple TV and devices that run OS X and iOS.

Last year a similar complaint was filed against Apple in the US, seeking compensation and damages for the alleged illegal use of streaming technology that was covered by five patents. The intellectual property goes back to the 1990s and 2000s and concerns digital video, satellite and broadcast transmissions.

A big player in the digital television industry, OpenTV develops and licenses its middleware for companies making interactive set-top box apps. The firm currently has a range of software systems such as video on-demand, personal video recording and television platforms used by DISH Network, QVC, CNN and many more.

Kudelski Group also licenses technology to several tech industry firms including Cisco, Google and Disney. Besides Apple, OpenTV currently has multiple cases against other tech firms that are still unresolved.

SOURCE: Apple Insider.

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