The U.S. Patent Office rejected, for the second time, a claim from Funai Electric against TV set manufacturer Vizio for breaching U.S. Patent 5,329,369, according to TWICE.
While the TWICE article refers to the patent as covering certain ATSC tuner technology, a careful check shows it refers to a process for digitally converting the aspect ratio of a TV picture.
“Based on this second rejection by the Patent Office, we believe that Funai’s ’369 patent will ultimately be deemed invalid by the Patent Office,” said Rob L. Brinkman, Vizio operations and administrative vice president.
TWICE ran this response from a Funai statement:
"The PTO’s latest notification refines its position regarding the ’369 patent, and Funai will be responding to the PTO regarding one specific reference that relates to validity of the '369 patent. Funai remains confident that, at the conclusion of the PTO’s reexamination proceedings, the ’369 patent will be upheld as valid."
More information is available in the TWICE article.
