ACTV Inc., an enhanced-television company, yesterday announced a patent infringement lawsuit against The Walt Disney Co. and its subsidiaries, ABC Inc. and ESPN Inc.
The lawsuit alleges that the enhanced TV system offered by ABC and ESPN in connection with the broadcast of ABC’s “Monday Night Football” and “Who Wants To Be a Millionaire” and ESPN’s “Sunday Night Football” infringes on three ACTV patents.
“We unconditionally deny that our enhanced television technology infringes on anyone’s patent,” said Christine Castro, spokeswoman for The Walt Disney Co., Burbank, CA. The company’s inhouse technical staff developed its own unique enhanced TV technology independently, she said.
ACTV, which markets its enhanced media technology under the HyperTV trademark, is responsible for 21 issued and pending patents related to enhanced television, radio and other audiovisual programming. The company licenses these patents to other enhanced media programming providers.
