It’s not just Apple that’s set to benefit from competitors’ patent litigation. TiVo is cashing in $250.4 million from Verizon over patent litigation.

The patent war that is looming over the IT industry just seems to get closer and closer. TiVo and Verizon are just the latest tycoons to reach a settlement in a patent litigation lawsuit. While TiVo is set to gain $250.4 from the settlement, Verizon had other patent litigations settled today. The trend is obvious: no more piggy-back rides for companies such as Verizon, without paying for patents.

“We are pleased to reach an agreement with Verizon” said TiVo CEO Tom Rogers. A statement he said “which underscores the significant value our distribution partners derive from TiVo’s technological innovations and our shareholders derive from our investments in protecting TiVo’s intellectual property”.

For the past 10 years, eight of them were a huge loss for TiVo. Not many people are buying DVRs these days and digital companies now have revenue figures that are skyrocketing. But the technology of digital-video recording is still profitable enough as it is widely used through the industry.

Verizon is one of the companies that has been benefiting from TiVo Inc.’s pioneering in technology. It joins the patent-paying list nine months after TiVo enjoyed a similar win against AT&T. TiVo got $215 million from AT&T back in January from a similar patent litigation settlement.

Verizon will initially pay TiVo in cash some $100 million and will then have to pay $150.4 million through July 2018 on a quarterly basis. The settlement means that Verizon will also have to pay a monthly license fee for every DVR subscriber.

The patent litigation lawsuits are just beginning. While some will argue small companies clinging on to their patents reeks of desperation, the truth is Apple stirred the lion’s cage. More and more tycoons will be forced through legal battles to pay for the technology others have pioneered. In the end, all liable patents will be bought by huge players that will use that to charge the competition.

The patent litigation settlement with Verizon, had TiVo shares go up by 5 percent to $10.05 in New York trading.