Tivo And Echostar -- Engadget

tivo,echostar posts

TiVo awarded $200m in damages in EchoStar case, consumers not awarded end to the Echostar case

by Nilay Patel posted Sep 6th 2009 at 5:43AM

Okay, so it's not the cool billion dollars in damages we'd heard TiVo was asking for, but $200 million ain't chump change if you're broke, you know? That's the amount in contempt damages TiVo will get if EchoStar loses its upcoming appeal in the endless time warp patent case, bringing the total amount of money on the table to nearly $400 million. As usual, that means virtually nothing for the average Dish or TiVo customer, but at least the lawyers involved can all buy new Audis for the winter now.

TiVo projects larger than expected losses, still taking the patent fight to AT&T and Verizon

by Richard Lawler posted Aug 26th 2009 at 8:19PM

We'll let the analysts make sense of TiVo's new projection that it will lose $8 to $10 million in the third quarter, larger than Wall Street expectations while projected revenues are lower -- we're too busy adding Verizon and AT&T to the patent battlemap. Today it filed complaints against both for violating three of its DVR-related patents -- Nos. 6,233,389 B1 ("Multimedia Time Warping System"), 7,529,465 B2 ("System for Time Shifting Multimedia Content Streams"), and 7,493,015 B1 ("Automatic Playback Overshoot Correction System") if you must know -- seeking damages for past infringement and a permanent injunction. We'd assumed it would wait until settling things with DISH to push forward against other companies, but it looks like we're not the only ones getting impatient. Beyond the legal slapfight there's a few nuggets for the bleep bloop faithful, with the Comcast TiVo on-line scheduler beginning to roll out in Boston plus further expansions on the way and the due-in-2010 DirecTV HD TiVo still on track -- we'll need a few seasons of Law & Order queued up before this mess ever gets resolved.

Read - TiVo Swings to Loss, Files Infringement Suits
Read - TiVo Reports Results for the Second Quarter Fiscal Year 2010 Ended July 31, 2009
Read - TiVo Files Complaints for Patent Infringement Against AT&T and Verizon Communications in United States District Court, Eastern District of Texas; Seeking Damages and Injunction

Patent Office rejects some of TiVo's patent claims, battle vs. DISH to rage on

by Richard Lawler posted Aug 5th 2009 at 9:04AM

You knew it couldn't be over, right? The long running TiVo vs. DISH / Echostar patent case took a not-so-new twist yesterday when the Patent and Trademark Office issued a preliminary finding rejecting some of the claims of its Time Warp patent. While DISH was pleased, considering the PTO's conclusions as "highly relevant" to its ongoing appeal, TiVo issued a statement calling this step "not unusual" pointing out that the exact same thing happened when its patent was reexamined in 2005 (and subsequently upheld in 2007,) and that the next step in the process is where it will be able to present its explanation for the first time. All you need to know is that it will still be a while before anyone involved (except the two company's lawyers) are cashing any large checks, or gets their DVR taken away.

[Via Multichannel News]

Read - TiVo Statement on Developments in Lawsuit Against EchoStar
Read - DISH Network and EchoStar Statement Regarding Tivo

TiVo asks court for a billion dollars in EchoStar case

by Nilay Patel posted Jul 13th 2009 at 10:41PM

Remember when we thought that those $90 million and $190 million judgments in the endless TiVo / EchoStar case were big noise? Yeah, they were apparently pocket change: according to documents recently filed with the court, TiVo's asking for nearly a billion dollars in contempt sanctions against EchoStar. Unfortunately, the original document in which TiVo made the request was filed under seal because it contains confidential information, but it appears that TiVo's none too pleased that EchoStar violated the permanent injunction that ordered it to disable some 193,000 DVRs in the wild, and it's looking for some payback. For its part, EchoStar says that it doesn't have to comply with the court's order because the injunction was put on hold pending appeal -- an argument that appears on the surface to make perfect sense, but since we can't read TiVo's motion we can't say for sure what's going on, and there's always a chance the company's just playing hardball in order to force a late settlement. Given the rocky history of this endless case, we doubt that's likely, but one thing's for certain: all these lawyers are eating well tonight.

TiVo coming to Time Warner Cable, potentially lots of other providers

by Nilay Patel posted Jun 22nd 2009 at 1:46PM

It's been a long, messy road, but now that TiVo's beaten a victory out of EchoStar in that seemingly-endless DVR patent lawsuit it sounds like the company is trying to exert some muscle -- it's already in talks to bring its service to Time Warner Cable, and sources have told Bloomberg the ultimate plan is to eventually collect royalties from every pay-TV provider in the US. That might sound bullying and even a little trollish, but keep in mind these patents have withstood pretty much every legal challenge EchoStar could throw at them, so TiVo's operating from a position of some certainty here -- especially since it's got license agreements with huge players like Comcast and DirecTV to use as leverage in negotiations as well. Of course, none of this solves any of TiVo's actual problems with its products, and the company's topsy-turvy balance sheet has some analysts thinking its ripe for a buyout by one of the bigs, so things could change dramatically at any minute, but for right now it sounds like your chances of getting the TiVo interface on your cable or satellite company DVR just went up, and that's almost certainly a good thing.

DISH / EchoStar DVR injunction temporarily put on hold by court

by Nilay Patel posted Jun 3rd 2009 at 7:45PM

It's the case that never ends -- the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has issued a temporary delay of of the injunction and fine handed down yesterday in the EchoStar / TiVo lawsuit while it considers an appeal, meaning that DISH owners with older DVRs won't have to worry about losing their pause-and-rewind functionality at least for now. That pretty much means we're back in stasis with this one, with even more delay to come if the appeal is granted. That's cool, we needed a nap anyway.

DISH / EchoStar ordered to pay TiVo $190 million in patent infringement case

by Donald Melanson posted Jun 2nd 2009 at 8:23PM

We're a bit hesitant to call this one done given the history involved, but a federal judge in Texas has dealt DISH / EchoStar yet another serious blow in its long-standing dispute with TiVo, and this time he's taken a number of other measures that could cause EchoStar to finally rethink its workaround-litigate strategy. The big setback for EchoStar, however, is the one-two punch of $190 million in damages it's been ordered to pay TiVo and an order to disable the "infringing function" on all but 193,000 DVRs now in the hands of subscribers. The judge also found that EchoStar's recently-implemented workaround technology still violated the patent in question and, as a result, he's ordered EchoStar to inform the court before it decides to try its hand at another "design-around" of the infringing patent. For its part, TiVo says that it is "extremely gratified by the Court's well reasoned and thorough decision," while DISH / EchoStar would only say that it plans to appeal the court's decision and file a motion to stay the order with a federal appeals court.

Read - The New York Times, "Court Awards TiVo $190 Million in EchoStar Patent Case"
Read - TiVo Statement on U.S District Court for the Eastern District of Texas Decision

TiVo and DISH / Echostar head back to Texas for another patent duel

by Donald Melanson posted Feb 18th 2009 at 2:46PM

Well, just when it was starting to look like TiVo and DISH / Echostar may finally have put their seemingly never-ending patent dispute behind them, the two companies now look to be rekindling things in Texas this week, where they've landed in court once more to sort out that pesky patent involving TiVo's Time Warp software. As patent dispute junkies may recall, TiVo first wound up being awarded some damages in the matter way back in 2006, after which Echostar was forced to develop some workaround software that it claims no longer infringed on TiVo's Time Warp patent, which allows for recording of one channel while the user watches another. In the meantime, Echostar / DISH continued to fight back against TiVo, with things finally, apparently coming to an end when the Supreme Court ultimately denied DISH's appeal and awarded TiVo those aforementioned damages (plus interest) for real. Now, TiVo is alleging that the DISH's "workaround" software does still violate its patent after all, and it's asking a U.S. District Court Judge in Texarcana, Texas to sort it out. If this latest round plays out as TiVo hopes, DISH could be forced to disable most, if not all, of its DVRs, and potentially buy new DVRs that don't infringe on TiVo's patents.

DISH / EchoStar keep fighting back, sue TiVo again over DVR patent

by Ryan Block posted May 30th 2008 at 9:06PM

The timeshifting DVR patent that's been at the core of TiVo's closed-but-not-quite-closed lawsuit with DISH / EchoStar is being contested yet again by the very same company. Not content just appealing to the Supreme Court regarding the Federal Circuit's ruling against a rehearing for the last case, DISH / EchoStar has started up a whole new lawsuit against TiVo, requesting a Delaware court find the new version of their DVR software does not infringe TiVo's patents -- presumably as an embittered and pre-emptive measure before TiVo could kick off its inevitable next suit. Don't worry if you're confused as all hell, so are we -- the point is, despite the fact that decisions have been made and rulings handed down, these two companies are still managing to sue, re-sue, and counter-re-sue one another.

DISH Network can't stop, won't stop fighting TiVo, heads to Supreme Court; your DVR is safe

by Richard Lawler posted Apr 11th 2008 at 7:22PM

DISH Network hasn't taken "no" "denied" or "not yours" for an answer before in its battle against TiVo, and it's not going to start now. In a statement, the company expressed its plans to appeal the Federal Circuit's ruling against a rehearing to the Supreme Court. No matter how it ends, customers don't have to worry about jackbooted government agents (or software updates, whatever) stealing their precious DISH DVR functionality, because its "next generation" DVR software has already been downloaded to your box, and does not infringe on any patents. We'll leave this up to the lawyers to fight out (and write amusing disclaimers about), but in the meantime hit the read link to hear DISH's side of things.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

TiVo's win over DISH Network upheld by court of appeals: It's over

by Richard Lawler posted Apr 11th 2008 at 1:07PM

Bad day for DISH Network, first its satellite is gone for good and now comes word its appeal to overturn TiVo's lawsuit has been denied. That should put an end to the legal push and pull between the companies, with TiVo firmly on top, DISH customers could have their DVRs pulled out from under them. Win in hand, TiVo has a lot more leverage against other providers to put its service on their boxes, (which might not be the worst thing if you've used some cable DVRs) and leaves the company looking a lot more lively.

[Thanks Zatz Not Funny & Thomas Hawk]

Good news for TiVo: court upholds patent claims against Echostar

by Nilay Patel posted Jan 31st 2008 at 1:40PM

The TiVo vs. EchoStar case got another little push towards finally ending today, as the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that EchoStar had indeed infringed part of TiVo's "time warp" patent. You might recall that the case had recently been on hold while the USPTO re-affirmed that the patent was valid -- armed with that decision, the appeals court ruled that EchoStar had crossed the line on the software component of the patent, but that more information was needed regarding whether or not EchoStar's hardware also infringed. That means we're in for another round of wrangling down in Marshall -- we'll keep you updated, if we can manage to stay awake.

[Via Zatz Not Funny! Warning: PDF read link]

Patent Office upholds TiVo's "time warp" patent, EchoStar not so happy

by Nilay Patel posted Nov 29th 2007 at 2:01PM

The long-running dispute between TiVo and EchoStar inched a little closer to resolution today, with the United States Patent Office issuing a non-appealable ruling saying that TiVo's DVR-enabling "time warp" patent is valid. You might remember that TiVo sued EchoStar for violating that patent in Dish Network DVRs at the beginning of 2006, and won a $90M judgment and an injunction requiring EchoStar to turn off existing DVR functionality and stop selling DVRs in the future. That injunction was then stayed pending EchoStar's appeals before the Patent Office and the Federal Court of Appeals, so sadly, this ruling doesn't mean the case is over yet -- now it's the Court of Appeals' turn to try and sort this out.

[Thanks, Dennis]

Disclaimer: Although this post was written by an attorney, it is not to constitute legal advice or analysis and should not be taken as such.

Echostar injunction stayed pending outcome of appeals process

by Evan Blass posted Oct 4th 2006 at 1:35PM

Even though its customers were the ones getting down at nationwide TiVo House Parties this past weekend, it was the company itself that woke up with a nasty hangover. In the latest development surrounding the most drawn-out patent dispute the consumer electronics industry has seen since that RIM / NTP debacle, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has just granted DISH-parent Echostar a temporary stay on an injunction that would have shut down its DVR service and halted sales of related hardware. You probably remember that TiVo won a $74 million jury verdict in this case back in April, when the Texas panel apparently agreed with the DVR pioneer that Echostar (who also had access to an early TiVo prototype box) had violated its so-called "Time Warp" patent. After much legal posturing, the award was upped to $90 million and the satellite TV provider was given 30 days to disable the time-shifting functionality on its STBs; luckily for DISH customers, the injunction was granted a temporary stay while the merits of Echostar's appeals case were weighed. Well the court has finally ruled that Echostar does indeed have a solid case, and that the company can therefore continue offering DVR services until its appeals have been exhausted. Sounds like bad news for TiVo, until you notice a snippet of Echostar's followup press release which reads, "We also continue to work on modifications to our new DVRs, and to our DVRs in the field, intended to avoid future alleged infringement." If Echostar is so confident in its lack of culpability here, why make changes to its supposedly non-infringing devices? Stay tuned, folks, as this one's not over yet -- not by a long shot.

[Via Zatz Not Funny]

Engadget Podcast 085 - 08.22.2006

by Trent Wolbe posted Aug 22nd 2006 at 1:36PM

What's with all the negativity, man? It's summer time and we'd think everybody'd be at the beach or drinking a beer, and yet it seems like we can't get through a week without this company or that going at another's throats -- or just laying down dead. EchoStar and TiVo have been really heating up this past week, but we really, um, exploded with the news that they are launching what amounts to be the largest consumer product recall in recent memory -- possibly in the history of consumer electronics. 4.1 million Dell batteries will make their way back to Dell at the same time Boeing kills off their in-flight internet access division, Connexion, but it's not all doom and gloom. SanDisk's latest 8GB Sansa is out, and you know we're excited about that. Plenty more on today's podcast!

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Hosts: Peter Rojas and Ryan Block

Producer: Trent Wolbe

Music: Solvent - Instructograph (Ghostly International)

Format: 37:14, 17.1 MB, MP3

Program:
0:52 - TiVo awarded $90M and permanent injunction aginst EchoStar
2:05 - Federal Court grants stay on EchoStar's TiVo injunction
8:00 - Dell recalls 4.1 million batteries
13:05 - Boeing disconnecting Connexion
21:35 - Wii for November under $250, and it "won't have hidden fees or costs"
27:13 - SanDisk unveils 8GB, expandable Sansa e280

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