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Best Buy Canada Sued for V-Chip Patent Infringement
Best Buy Co. Inc., Best Buy Canada Ltd. and The Brick Warehouse Corp. are each named in a patent infringement suit for allegedly selling unlicensed V-Chip technology. The action was launched in Federal Court, Toronto, by Tri-Vision Electronics and states that certain TV sets (e.g. of Xiamen Overseas Chinese Electronic Co. sold in association with the Prima brand) infringe its Canadian patent. Tri-Vision (TSX:TVL) designs, develops, manufactures and supplies electronic products to the cable television, multimedia and consumer electronics industries. It claims to have licensed its patent to 23 companies including many major TV manufacturers.
New TVs sold in Canada and the U.S. are required to have technology for blocking violent and other objectionable programming. Viewers may be familiar with TV rating codes to facilitate automated blocking. V-Chip technology was invented in Canada by Timothy D. Collings, then a professor at Simon Fraser University.
Like patent laws in other jurisdictions, Canadian patent law provides a patent owner with the right to exclude others from making, using and, importantly, selling what was patented. While suing a retailer is unusual, it can be an effective way to enforce a patent in appropriate circumstances.
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