IceTV slays Nine in High Court EPG victory: update

Stephen Withers
Wednesday, 22 April 2009 11:47

Business IT - Technology

This development occurred shortly after Nine acquired HWW, a TV guide aggregator and supplier to print and online media.

Please read on.

In August 2007, the Federal Court found in IceTV's favour, but the litigation had already spiked the company's attempt to go public.

Nine appealed the decision, and in May 2008 the full bench of the Federal Court reversed the verdict.

IceTV was granted special leave to appeal to the High Court, which heard the case in October 2008.

Meanwhile, IceTV altered its practices to comply with the Federal Court's ruling.

An effective and comprehensive EPG is key to the effective use of PVRs and similar computer-based products.

There have been reports that the free to air stations will move to a proprietary format for the Freeview digital TV EPG, and only license it for use on devices that do not allow ad-skipping.

This makes the availability of an independent EPG - even if it is available only on subscription - important for many ordinary viewers.