TiVo sued over patent

Pause Technology said Tuesday it has filed suit against digital video recorder company TiVo for alleged patent infringement. Filed in the U.S. District Court in Boston, the lawsuit alleges that Tivo's recorders infringe on a patent for technology that allows viewers to pause live TV, replay portions of a program while it is being recorded and fast-forward through recorded segments to "catch up" to a live broadcast being recorded. Pause said it first contacted TiVo about the infringement in April 2000 and then again in May 2001.

TiVo spokeswoman Rebecca Baer said the company typically does not comment on litigation. Pause, an intellectual property company based in Boston, said that earlier this year Motorola became the first company to license its technology. Motorola plans to use it in an upcoming line of set-top boxes that offer digital video recording. Pause said it is also working with other potential licensees.