Verizon accuses Cablevision of patent infringement

Verizon Communications previously has attacked the programming practices of New York City rival Cablevision Systems, and now the telco TV upstart is accusing the cable TV incumbent of infringing on patents related to new set-top box features.

Verizon has called on the International Trade Commission to address the allegations five patents related to TV features such as feeds for over-the-top video downloads and other Internet-related and interactivity features. The telco apparently is looking to stop Cablevision from offering Cisco Systems STBs that enable these features. The move also could be a preliminary step toward protecting other TV features, such as the social media widgets Verizon has launched over the last year or so. Cablevision hasn't gone that far yet with Internet-related offerings--it only recently launched its own PC to TV Media Relay service, one of its first forays into the marriage of Internet and TV. 

For more:
- Light reading has this report
- InformationWeek has this story

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