Sony and VIZIO ditch the courtroom, clear up licensing issues
VIZIO sure ends up in a whole lot of legal battles, but one way or another, it always seems to find its way out in the long run. Such is the case once again today, as the current LCD TV king has apparently said all the right things to Sony. If you'll recall, Sony (along with a slew of others) filed suit against Vizio awhile back over patent licensing concerns, but now it seems the two have reached a mutual agreement to use each other's technologies without bickering over who owns what. The release on the matter states that Sony "has become a licensee under VIZIO's patent portfolio," and that "VIZIO now is a licensee under Sony's color television patent portfolio." Who knows how much under-the-table cash and shaky promises had to be passed along in order to make everyone happy, but hey, a problem solved is a problem solved.
[Image courtesy of TooMuchNick / WireImage]
Update: Sony's response to all of this is after the break, courtesy of a company spokesperson who pinged us directly.
In October 2008, Sony filed a litigation against Vizio in the Federal District Court for the Central District of California for infringement of fourteen of Sony's patents related to color televisions and PC monitors. The parties have now settled all current patent litigation between them, with Vizio becoming a paying licensee under Sony's patents for color televisions and PC monitors. Additionally, under the settlement, during its term, Sony will be licensed under any patents that Vizio purchased this year related to color televisions, as well as any they may own in the future that are related to color televisions or PC monitors.
