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| The GemStar Situation
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- GemStar is a Jay Walker-style company best known for VCR+ and TVGuide. Unfortunately,
the media and Wall Street love
this
stuff.
- Would not be overly strong to say they consider suing every potential customer
and competitor. Examples: Tivo, Pioneer, Scientific Atlanta, EchoStar.
- Agressive use of patents as litigation tool. Example: Recent ITC case
had over 200 attorneys.
- Fairly agressive business terms on ITV, the "portal to your television."
Example: Comcast pays $6/user/year + 85% of all ads and 50% of so-called "t-commerce" sales.
- IPG and EPG considered the key app in cable world.
- But, technology has ossified. Grid considered state of the art.
- "Interactive" part of IPG is "t-commerce."
- No programmable media guide interface. No real-time signal capability.
No concept of community.
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