Rovi to appeal court order favoring Netflix in patent case

(Reuters) - Rovi Corp, a digital entertainment guides provider, said it will appeal a California court decision to invalidate five of its patents and the order that Netflix did not infringe the patents.

"We are disappointed in, and strongly disagree with, the court's decision finding the five patents invalid and plan to appeal that decision," Samir Armaly, Rovi's executive vice president of intellectual property and licensing, said in a statement.

Reuters could not immediately reach Netflix for comment outside regular U.S. business hours.

Rovi, which provides digital entertainment guides, has sought to enforce its patents over the past few years and is fighting streaming video providers such as Netflix and Amazon.com Inc, which it accuses of infringing its patents.

Santa Clara, California-based Rovi's intellectual property portfolio includes patents licensed to pay TV providers such as Comcast Corp, Time Warner Cable Inc, DISH Network Corp and DirecTV.

The case is in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, Netflix Inc v Rovi Corp; case no: 11-cv-6591.

(Reporting by Supriya Kurane in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)