October 18, 2012 - TiVo Inc. claims that its patent damages claim against Google's Motorola Mobility unit is "likely to run into the billions of dollars." The company made this assertion in a filing in federal court in Marshall, Texas, in which TiVo requested that its case against Motorola Mobility be merged with one involving Cisco Systems. Both cases include Time Warner Cable Inc. as a defendant.
TiVo told the court that consolidating the two cases would simplify discovery, depositions and other pretrial proceedings. However, Motorola Mobility claims that TiVo waited too long to request merging the cases, that the judge had split the case in order to handle the claims against Cisco and Motorola Mobility separately, and that the Motorola Mobility case is further along than the Cisco one.
Though the case could get complicated, there is motivation on at least one side for a speedy settlement. Google purchased Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion in May 2012, and wishes to sell the part of the company that sells set-top boxes and other equipment to cable companies. However, it will be difficult to find buyers until the lawsuit with TiVo is settled and the threats of an injunction and a large damages claim have passed.