Judge Throws Out TiVo's Damages Claim against Kantar

In the US, a judge has ruled that TiVo Research and Analytics cannot seek damages over claims that Kantar Media Audiences stole trade secrets relating to TiVo's audience/shopping data matching solution.

The case dates back to 2011, when media measurement and analytics firm TRA sent a letter to WPP's investment arm Cavendish Square Holdings, claiming Kantar's RapidView product was a copy of its own Media TRAnalytics tool. Kantar's product was launched just a few months after talks between the firms regarding a potential purchase of TRA by WPP broke down. The marcoms giant responded to the letter by filing a lawsuit in the Manhattan Federal Court.

In 2014, with TRA now owned by TiVo, the two firms agreed not to go to court over the outstanding claims. However, on Wednesday, US District Judge Katherine Forrest blocked TiVo from seeking up to $196m in damages for Kantar allegedly devaluing its business in the long-running patent infringement row.