The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is seeking to shine light on the many sealed and heavily redacted filings related to a recently settled patent case involving Charter Communications and Entropic Communications. 

The two companies settled Entropic's lawsuit in a U.S. District Court in Texas over Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS) technologies in December. (You can read the case here.) 

But according to digital rights advocacy group EFF, the two sides made so much of their beef secret, it's difficult to gauge the impact of the complaint and resulting settlement on the ever-evolving DOCSIS standard, which is the foundation of cable broadband. 

"EFF’s motion argues that the legal issues in the case and their potential implications for the DOCSIS standard are a matter of public concern and asks the district court judge hearing the case to provide greater public access," wrote the group's senior policy analyst, Joe Mullin, and Aaron Mackey, its chief transparency and free speech litigator, in a blog post. 

"In Entropic, both sides are experienced litigants who should know that this type of sealing is improper," the pair added. "Unfortunately, over-broad secrecy is common in patent litigation, particularly in cases filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas."

EFF has filed this motion to unseal the court records. 

Entropic has recently sued other cable companies, including Comcast and Cox Communications, as well as satellite TV companies DirecTV and Dish Network. 

MaxLinear has joined the board of directors of the Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA), moving up from an Associate level membership that the company has held since 2011.

MaxLinear was eligible to assume the seat on the MoCA board as a result of its acquisition of Entropic Communications late last month. Entropic was a pioneer in MoCA-powered silicon and products.

“MaxLinear’s enthusiasm and commitment will greatly contribute to the success of the Alliance. We are delighted to have them join the Board and look forward to their insights and involvement” said Charles Cerino, president of MoCA, in a statement.

“We intend to take a very active role in MoCA,” added Dr. Kishore Seendripu, CEO of MaxLinear. “We have long supported the value MoCA technology brings to the connected home.”

MoCA technology is being used in a variety of whole-home DVRs, set-tops, broadband gateways, and Ethernet-to-coax bridge devices. As an upgrade of MoCA 1.1, the 2.0 version is designed to support usable throughputs of more than 400 Mbps in “Basic” mode and 500 Mbps in a “Turbo” point-to-point setting when connected devices are operating in the baseline mode and utilizing a single channel. MoCA 2.0 also supports an “Enhanced” mode that uses channel bonding to produce throughputs of between 800 Mbps to 1 Gbps.

Last month, MoCA said all new product certifications during the first quarter of 2015 were for devices of the 2.0 variety.

Execs with MaxLinear and Entropic Communications used a conference call on Tuesday afternoon to amplify the reasons why they think a proposed merger makes sense, holding that they complement each other technologically and financially and, together, will strengthen their position in the connected home.

So far, Wall Street seems to like the deal and the potential it will give the combined entity to pursue a broader addressable market. In mid-afternoon trading Wednesday, Entropic shares were up 35 cents ($12.78%) to $3.05 each, while MaxLinear shares enjoyed 24 cent rise (2.82%) to $8.76.

The financial terms of the deal value Entropic at $3.01 per share, based on MaxLinear’s closing price on February 2, so it’s already trading above that.

And the value of the deal is already receiving some static. A handful of securities and shareholder rights law firms, including Tripp Levy, Rigrodsky & Long, Johnson & Weaver, and Brower Piven, have already swooped in to announce they are investigating the proposed deal, holding that MaxLinear’s offer undervalues Entropic. Some cite analyst projections that the stock is worth at least $5 per share.

Back to the call, Dr. Kishore Seendripu, MaxLinear’s CEO, discussed the parallels and complementary assets each side brings to the table,  noting that the combined entity have several shared customers, including Arris, Cisco Systems, Comcast, Cox Communications, DirecTV, Dish Network, Time Warner Cable and Pace, among others.

“Financially, this is a great fit,” he proclaimed, presenting data showing that MaxLinear and Entropic are similar in scale and both are well capitalized -- $185 million in cash between them ($79 million from MaxLinear and $106 million from  Entropic).

While use of WiFi for video distribution continues to surge, MaxLinear still sees plenty of potential for Entropic’s Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA) technology – used as a high-speed IP backbone for whole-home DVRs and home networking adapters. “We see MoCA as the connectivity technology of choice in north America from a quality of service perspective,” Seendripu said, citing MoCA’s adoption by cable operators and telco and satellite TV operators.

He also said MaxLinear intends to follow through with Entropic’s current plans for set-top systems-on-chip (SoCs) – to support current products and design opportunities, but won’t invest in the development of new set-top box SoC products.

Dr. Ted Tewskbury, Entropic’s interim president and CEO, said his company conducted an extensive review and “believes this to be best outcome for Entropic shareholders.”

While it’s business as usual for Entropic as the deal gets reviewed, Tewksbury did note that Entropic’s near-term potential is being driven by SoCs in HD-DTA devices, “which are showing a great deal of strength.” Entropic got into the set-top SoC game in 2012 via a $65 million acquisition of Trident Microsystems. At the time, it was viewed as a deal that would position Entropic to tangle with Broadcom. 

With SoCs not to be a part of the game plan long term, Seendripu downplayed such comparisons, calling it a “misconception” that a driver of Entropic acquisition is about pitting MaxLinear against Broadcom.

“We respect what Broadcom has done…they’re an incredible company to look up to, actually,” he said, adding that MaxLinear will be sticking to its core strategy to be a “world-class RF mixed signal PHY company.” 

In a deal that will further consolidate the silicon market for set-tops, high-speed home networking and cable broadband modems gear, MaxLinear announced Tuesday that it has inked a deal to acquire Entropic Communications. 

Under the deal, Entropic shareholders will receive $1.20 per share in cash and 0.2200 shares of MaxLinear common stock for each Entropic common share outstanding. MaxLinear said the implied total transaction value of the deal is about $287 million, with an implied enterprise value of $181 million, net of Entropic’s cash balance as of Dec. 31, 2015. MaxLinear expects the deal will achieve operating synergies in excess of $20 million in the first full calendar year post-close.

Shares of Entropic were up 21 cents (7.78%) to $2.91 each in after-hours trading Tuesday.

MaxLinear, which expects to close the deal in the second quarter of 2015, is making its move following a recent rough path for Entropic, a San Diego-based  maker of set-top chipsets and Multimedia over Coax  (MoCA) technologies.

Last June, Entropic announced a major restructuring, followed in September with word that its board had authorized the company to pursue “strategic options.” In November, Entropic announced that troubled, former president and CEO Patrick Henry was leaving, naming Dr. Ted Tewskbury (pictured) as its interim president and CEO. At the time, Entropic also said it would discontinue all new set-top box SoC product development.

MaxLinear, which counts Broadcom among its competitors, said the deal with add significant scale to its analog/mixed-signal business, allow it to expand its addressable market, and bolster its intellectual property, noting that Entropic has about 1,500 issued and pending patents.

"We are very excited about the opportunity to bring together two talented and largely complementary teams, as we increase our capabilities to solve the most difficult analog and mixed-signal RF challenges in Broadband markets," said Dr. Kishore Seendripu, CEO of MaxLinear, in a statement.

"I share Kishore's enthusiasm for this combination, which we believe maximizes value for Entropic's shareholders, employees and customers,” added Tewskbury, who will join the MaxLinear board when the deal is wrapped up. “These are two excellent companies in the industry, and I believe our stakeholders will benefit from the resources and scale that the combination will provide."

MaxLinear also reaffirmed fourth quarter guidance, with revenues expected to be in the range of $32 million to $33 million. MaxLinear is to report Q4 results on Feb. 9, 2015.

Entropic announced fourth quarter results on Tuesday (February 3), posting revenues of $42.6 million, and a net loss of $25.5 million, or 28 cents per share. Entropic pulled in revenues of $191.6 million for all of 2014, down from $259.4 million for 2013. 

Entropic Communications, a maker of silicon for set-tops and high-speed coax-based networking, announced Monday (November 10) that president and CEO Patrick Henry is leaving the company and stepping down from the company’s board of directors, and that Dr. Ted Tewskbury (pictured) has been appointed Entropic’s interim president and CEO.

Entropic also announced a new product strategy that will involve a refocusing on its core “connectivity” business, which includes Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA) technology, and a halt on all new set-top box systems-on-chip product development (see further below for more detail).

Henry’s departure comes about two months after the chipmaker announced a major restructuring that included authorization for the board to pursue “strategic options.” It also comes almost five months after a Utah court found Henry guilty of assaultingBeverly Hills Nanniesstart Ariane Bellamar, but reduced the charge from a misdemeanor to an infraction, while also dropping two other charges -- interruption of a communication device, and criminal mischief.

Henry, Entropic’s president and CEO since 2003, has led the company through an initial public offering and a string of acquisitions, including its $65 million purchase of Trident Semiconductor in 2012. That deal helped Entropic, once a company that specialized in MoCA technology, into a more diverse supplier of set-top silicon that included a focus on products based on the Reference Design Kit, a pre-integrated set-top software stack that’s now being managed by Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Liberty Global.

"On behalf of the Board of Directors, I want to thank Patrick for his many contributions to Entropic over the past decade," said Umesh Padval, Entropic's chairman of the Board, in a statement. "Under Patrick's leadership, the Company completed its initial public offering and developed a number of market leading technologies. With the change in strategy and business restructuring that Entropic is also announcing today, the Board believes it is the right time for a leadership transition. We are fortunate to have Ted available to serve as interim President and CEO. Ted has successfully led and developed executive management teams and possesses a proven track record as a semiconductor industry executive. We are confident that he will provide strong leadership for the Company."

Tewksbury, the former president and CEO of Integrated Device Technology, joined the Entropic board in September of 2010. 

As interim President and CEO, Dr. Tewksbury will work closely with Entropic's executive team and Board of Directors to oversee the Company's ongoing operations and strategic initiatives, including the ongoing review of strategic alternatives, the company said. Tewksbury will stay on the Entropic board, but will no longer serve on its compensation committee.

"I look forward to working alongside Entropic's talented team and contributing to the Company's future success," Tewksbury said in a statement. "With our refocused strategy and restructuring plan, we are targeting to reach non-GAAP profitability next quarter. We are continuing to explore strategic alternatives, and remain focused on product innovation, operational excellence, and enhancing shareholder value."

On Monday, Entropic also posted third quarter results – a net loss of $27.6 million (31 cents per share) on revenues of $43.2 million, down from $56.4 million in the year-ago period.

Entropic also shed more light on its product plan, announcing that it will refocus on its core Connectivity businesses, which include MoCA, direct broadcast satellite outdoor unit (DBS ODU) and broadband access. Entropic said it will continue to pursue design wins for all set-top box system-on-a-chip (SoC) products in production or already commercialized and will continue to invest to support those programs, but the company will discontinue all new set-top box SoC product development. 

The company’s set-top box SoC business “will contribute meaningful revenue for the next three years or more” based on design wins currently in the pipeline and on products already brought to market, Entropic said. 

Entropic Communications, a set-top and MoCA chipmaker that’s already undergoing a major restructuring, said its board has authorized the company to pursue “a wide range of alternatives” aimed at boosting shareholder value.

Entropic, which hired Barclays for the exercise, did not outline any specific alternatives it will pursue and whether that might include a potential sale of Entropic, but the announcement caused Entropic shares to jump almost 7% in mid-day trading Tuesday.

Entropic said it has not set a timetable on that effort, and won’t disclose more until after its board approves a specific action or otherwise concludes its review.

On Monday, Entropic announced that it and with rival company ViXS Systems settled their litigation and have entered a cross-licensing agreement, a move that seemingly removes any legal-facing hang-ups that might trouble Entropic's pursuit of a sale or another strategic alternative.

Entropic is considering alternatives amid a plan to streamline its R&D and speed up its return to profitability. In June, Entropic announced it would lay off 23% of its global workforce as part of its reorg. It ended the first quarter of 2014 with about 650 employees and expects to reduce that to fewer than 500 in the fourth quarter of 2014. That will follow smaller restructuring last summer that included a 10% layoff.

Entropic, which also competes with Broadcom, announced revised third quarter guidance on Tuesday, and now expects revenues to be $43 million alongside a GAAP loss per share of 28 cents, versus original third quarter guidance of a loss of 24 cents on revenues of $49 million to $51 million. Entropic said the revisions were primarily due to sales softness for its satellite TV outdoor unit (ODU) business, but said it has won some key designs recently to help it take steps toward break-even.

At the end of the second quarter, Entropic had four customers driving more than 10% of revenues: WNC, a supplier into DirecTV (25%); CyberTAN, a subcontractor for Cisco Systems (14%); Actiontec, a supplier to Verizon Communications (14%); and MTI, a supplier of ODU gear to satellite TV companies (11%).

“Our Board of Directors and management are committed to taking the appropriate steps to enhance value for Entropic shareholders and we have determined that undertaking a thorough and deliberative evaluation of strategic alternatives, with the assistance of financial advisors, is in the best interests of the Company and all of our shareholders," Patrick Henry, president and CEO of Entropic, said in a statement. "The entire Entropic team is fully committed to meeting the needs of our OEM customers and service provider partners and we will continue to provide them with industry-leading solutions for connected home entertainment throughout this process."

Following a string of lawsuits about alleged patent violations and unfair trade practices, chipmakers Entropic Communications and ViXS Systems announced Monday that they have settled all litigation and agreed to execute cross-licensing deals that cover patents linked to the litigation.

The peace agreement smooths out what has been a rocky relationship between rivals that has grown more competitive in part because both companies make silicon for Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA), a high-speed home networking platform for set-tops, gateways and Ethernet-over-coax bridge devices.

Last May, Entropic targeted ViXS in a California district court, alleging that its competitor had infringed on two of its “core” home coax networking patents.

In April of this year, ViXS filed a complaint at the U.S. International Trade Commission alleging that Entropic had engaged in unfair trade practices by using certain set-tops, gateways and other devices that, it claimed, infringed on four asserted patents. ViXS also complained that Entropic's timing was suspect becasue the suit was targeting ViXS as the Toronto-based company was in the midst of an initial public offering. ViXS's complaint also sought to halt the importation into the U.S. and sale after importation products that use Entropic’s MoCA silicon, and included DirecTV, Wistron NeWeb Corp., and CyberTAN on the list of defendants. The settlement announced Monday dismissed actions against those defendants, the companies said.

Other terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

"Today's settlement allows both companies to move on as two of the industry's innovation leaders," said Patrick Henry, president and CEO, Entropic, in a statement. "We have set aside our differences while addressing the needs of our customers, our shareholders and the industry."

"We are pleased to find an amicable and effective solution to the litigation with Entropic," added Sally Daub, president and CEO, ViXS. "We expect to continue the productive collaboration the companies have established over the years."

As the IBC show hits the home stretch, here’s another roundup of news snippets from Amsterdam.

Check out our earlier IBC news roundups here, here, and here.

-A+E Networks and Cisco Systems said they have integrated and tested Nielsen ID3 tagging  to track viewing patterns for mobile screen services. Cisco noted that its D9036 broadcast encoder has been enhanced to deliver Nielsen  ID3 tagging, having previously released that capability on its Videoscape AnyRes Live software encoders. A+E Networks is introducing ID3 tagging to support viewer measurement on PCs, tablets and smartphones.

-Elemental Technologies said thePlatform, the Comcast-owned online video publishing unit, has upgraded its mpx Accelerate service to support video processing from Elemental. thePlatform’s mpx Accelerate product enables partners to store high-quality mezzanine video files for transcoding to a variety of formats.

-ONO, Spain’s largest cable operator in Spain, is expanding its relationship with TiVo by supporting TiVo’s cloud service APIs for multi-screen, authenticated TV Everywhere viewing options. The additions will also include cloud-focused search and discovery features and remote DVR management. ONO’s the first TiVo MSO partner to announce its use of the APIs to deliver a consistent TiVo experience across screen types. ONO said it has deployed its TiVo option to more than 400,000 active users, more than half of its user base.

-Cubiware is using the show to demo a prototype of the TiVo UI running on Evolution Digital thin-client set-tops outfitted with its CubiTV middleware platform and access to TiVo’s cloud service APIs. Cubiware said the mix is targeted to cable operators as well as satellite and IPTV service providers.

-Piksel, the recently relaunched online video publishing firm, has unveiled Piksel Mosaic, a proof-of-concept “hyper-personalized” video application that supports “context-based’ recommendations across set-tops and mobile devices. Piksel’s historic custoemrs include AT&T, BskyB, Mediaset and Sky Deutschland.

-Chipmaker Entropic Communications pumped out a bevy of announcements at IBC. Among them, Triax, an international distributor of digital TV and data gear, has added an Entropic-powered MoCA Ethernet-to-Coax Adapters to its product set. Hitron Technologies, meanwhile, has achieved MoCA 2.0 certification for the CGNM, a DOCSIS 3.0 wireless gateway that can bond up to 24 downstream channels and utilizes Entropic’ EN2710 baseband MAC/PHY and EN1410 RF transceiver/analog front-end.  Additionally, Portugal-based Novabase Digital TV Technologies has launched a new line of Digital Transport Adapters (DTAs) powered by Entropic’s EN700-series set-top box chipsets.