A made-for-TV lawsuit: MIT sues television makers over digital sets

MIT yesterday sued two TV makers for refusing to pay licensing fees on digital-television patents it was granted in the 1990s.

In lawsuits against Funai - which makes Philips, Magnavox, Sylvania, Emerson, Funai, and Symphonic products - and Vizio - MIT says it held four patents at the heart of American digital television and that it's owed licensing fees and penalties because the two companies refused to buy licenses for the technologies, unlike other makers of TVs and Blu-ray players.

• Funai complaint
• Vizio complaint
• Patient: Source adaptive television system
• Patient: Television system with multiple transmission formats
• Patent: Digital advanced television systems
• Digital advanced television systems