Business Wire has released an announcement that Gemstar- TV Guide has entered a multi-year patent license agreement with SnapStream Media, Inc. for certain software products, including its Beyond TV offerings. Regular readers of this Geek Tonic Blog know that Snapstream is the company that developed the popular HTPC software programs Beyond TV and Beyond Media - Relevant Posts regarding Snapstream at this blog can be found here. The agreement includes patent license rights for Snapstream in support of interactive program guides deployed on personal computers
UPDATE:
I spoke with Rakesh Agrawal, CEO of Snapstream Media about this this morning and he clarified that this is simply an intellectual property rights agreement between the two companies related to Snapstream's use of the Snapstream television guide. No significant changes will be noticed by consumers and users of the Snapstream products.
Story Source: Yahoo Business News & Gemstar Press Release
Gemstar-TV Guide International, Inc. (NASDAQ: GMST), a leading media, entertainment and technology company, has signed a patent license agreement with SnapStream Media, Inc. for certain software products, including its Beyond TV offerings.
The multi-year agreement includes patent license rights for SnapStream in support of interactive program guides (IPGs) deployed on personal computers.Samir Armaly, executive vice president, intellectual property and licensing, Gemstar-TV Guide, said, 'We are pleased to have this patent license agreement in place with SnapStream Media, Inc., as it represents another example of industry innovators recognizing the value of our intellectual property on emerging media platforms.'
Specific terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
SnapStream Media, Inc. is a software company best known for its Beyond TV PC DVR.
