OpenTV sues Apple over iTunes content streaming technology

Interactive digital television firm OpenTV on Tuesday filed suit against Apple for alleged infringement of five patents relating to storing and delivering digital content to personal electronic devices.

According to the complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, OpenTV is seeking compensation or royalties, along with supplemental damages for alleged infringement of five patents. Re/code spotted the filing earlier today.

The patents, which date back to the late 1990s to early 2000s, deal with storing, securing and disseminating media to end user devices, though document language mainly applies to digital video, broadcast and satellite transmissions.

Plaintiffs note parent company Kudelski Group has licensed its patent portfolio to a number of tech companies, including Cisco, Google and Disney.

OpenTV was an early player in the digital television industry and provides middleware that allows users a certain level of interactivity with set-top boxes. For example, the company's software powers DISH Network's interactive shopping program, QVC's real-time television shopping services and CNN Enhanced TV, the suit says. As digital television consumption evolved, so did OpenTV, which now concentrates on video-on-demand, personal video recording and enhanced television applications.