The UK’s Court of Appeal has upheld a decision that strips TV EPG maker Gemstar, now part of Rovi, of three patents.

Rovi Corp., best known for being a behind-the-scenes force in everything from metadata to copyright protection, announced a few moves Tuesday that indicate the company wants to step out front and center.

Rovi Corp. declared its intent to acquire Sonic Solutions late Wednesday in a deal worth $720 million. The combined company could have the clout to accelerate the adoption of digital distribution in video entertainment.

Rovi, formerly Macrovision (NSDQ: MVSN), has acquired a small content personalization and recommendation software firm, MediaUnbound, for an undisclosed sum. MU was founded in 2000 by Harvard undergraduates and its clients have included Napster, MTV, *NTT DoCoMo* and HMV (LSE: HMV). Rovi owns All Media Guide and of course its…

Comcast (NSDQ: CMCSA) has become the sole owner of interactive program guide firm GuideWorks, as Rovi announced Monday that it has exited the joint venture with the operator. Meanwhile, Rovi said it also expanded its relationship with the nation’s largest cable operator to include enhanced entertainment metadata products as well…

Couple of interesting rebrands in our industry:—Macrovision (NSDQ: MVSN), the digital media solutions and IPG company, has come to a macro decision: it is changing its rather obtuse name to another obtuse but more catchy name: Rovi. It will rebrand the company after its annual shareholder meeting on July 15th…if…