ActiveVideo aims injunction at Verizon TV services

Fresh off a patent infringement victory over Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ), interactive TV programming guide company ActiveVideo Networks late last week said it would pursue an injunction against Verizon's ongoing use of the technologies in question. The move could theoretically threaten to shut down the telco's TV service operations.

ActiveVideo had won a $115 million judgment against Verizon in U.S. District Court in Eastern Virginia. In pursuing the related injunction, ActiveVideo is seeking to stop Verizon from using the technologies affected by the patents, which include some aspects of its interactive TV programming and applications, as well as video-on-demand services.

Verizon reportedly will appeal the recent verdict in the patent infringement lawsuit, and presumably, even if the ActiveVideo injunction were to make progress, Verizon would develop a workaround of some kind to avoid the theoretical--if not realistic--threat that its FiOS TV network operations could be disrupted in some way.

One of the interesting footnotes to all of this activity is that ActiveVideo is a key technology supplier to Cablevision Systems (NYSE: CVC), which is of course a major competitive enemy of Verizon (and vice versa) in the pay TV market. Verizon lost out on a previous effort to launch counterclaims against both ActiveVideo and Cablevision.

For more:
- see FierceCable's take
- read this Light Reading story

Related articles:
ActiveVideo won its lawsuit against Verizon this month
Cloud TV: ActiveVideo Networks
Court invalidates Verizon's patent counterclaims against ActiveVideo, Cablevision
ITC refuses Verizon's appeal in Cablevision patent infringement case