<div><p>Microsoft has weighed in on the side of US telecom giant AT&T in a legal battle with digital video recorder maker TiVo.</p><p>Microsoft on Tuesday filed suit against TiVo in a San Francisco federal court, accusing the company of using the software titan's intellectual property without permission.</p><p>"We remain open to resolving this situation through an intellectual property licensing agreement, and we have initiated discussions to engage TiVo in negotiations," said Microsoft director of public affairs Kevin Kutz.</p><p>The litigation comes just a week after Microsoft tried to quash a separate lawsuit in which TiVo charges that AT&T infringed on TiVo patents by using Microsoft software in a U-verse cable television service.</p><p>"These actions are part of a legal strategy to defend AT&T," California-based TiVo said in a statement posted at its website.</p><p>"We remain confident in our position that AT&T will be found to infringe on the TiVo patents asserted."</p><p>Microsoft last week assured a court in Texas that neither the software company nor firms using its television program delivery technology tread on TiVo patents.</p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=67385992&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>

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