Here’s an interesting suggestion on how Google could deal with the pending patent infringement litigation TiVo is pressing against Google’s Motorola Mobility business: They could simply buy TiVo outright.

This idea comes courtesy of Janney Capital analyst Tony Wible, who has been keeping close tabs on the progress of the infringement suit. And he thinks the situation is leaning in TiVo’s favor.

“The claims construction for TIVO’s upcoming litigation against Motorola/GOOG is in for the five patents involved and heavily favors TIVO, which prevailed in 81% of the claims (5% went in favor of Motorola and 14% were split),” he writes. “These interpretations will make it much more difficult for Motorola to prevail in court as the prior precedent and the broader interpretations are harder to circumvent. Infringement on any one item creates a problem for Motorola.”

Wible thinks the court’s approach to claims construction in the case opens the door to a settlement agreement; he adds that Google is not likely to be able to sell the Motorola Mobility Home business until the situation is settled. He estimates that Google would face up to $720 million in damages if TiVo were awarded 50 cents a month on 20 million installed cable boxes over a six year period. “This would be worth about 50% of TIVO’s market cap and would be their largest settlement to date.,” he notes, adding that “this probability does not appear to be priced into TIVO’s stock.”

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Read also:

Will TiVo See A Blockbuster Resolution To Its Patent Case Against Google? (Deadline.com)

TIVO: Time is on Their Side, Google Acquisition Conceivable, Says Janney (Barron’s (blog))

Google's (GOOG) Best Way Out of TiVo (TIVO) Litigation May Be to Buy the … (StreetInsider.com (subscription))

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