RSSEchoStar Wins Reprieve in TiVo Suit
By Ed Oswald | Published October 3, 2006, 7:23 PM
EchoStar scored a victory in court Tuesday, as a federal appeals court stayed the injunction that would have prevented it from selling digital video recorders to its customers. A jury had found the company guilty of infringing on TiVo's patents in April, and awarded TiVo $73 million.
The court had issued a permanent injunction that would have prevented EchoStar from manufacturing or selling digital video recorders. However, in mid-August the company won a temporary stay of the injunction pending a decision on whether the stay should be permanent.
At issue is the so-called "time warp" patent, which deals with systems and methods for the simultaneous storage and playback of programs, supporting advanced capabilities such as pausing live television, fast-forwarding, rewinding, instant replays, and slow motion, TiVo said.
Tuesday's decision made the stay permanent for the duration of the appeals process, meaning the company could continue to build and market its DVRs. In a statement announcing the court's move, TiVo downplayed its significance.
"We are confident that the jury's decision in TiVo's favor will be upheld once the Federal Circuit has the opportunity to review the entire record in this case," TiVo said. "It is important to note that most injunctions in patent cases are stayed pending appeal, and the appeal itself will be decided on a totally different standard of review."
Obviously, EchoStar saw the decision in a different light, saying the court found that the company had a substantial case. "This action by the Federal Court reinforces our belief that the Texas court made significant errors during the trial process and we look forward to complete vindication of our position," it said in a statement.
All comes down to timing. EchoStar claims they invented the technology first. If true, TiVo can expect a counter suit that they cannot defend.
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If Tivo does have a valid patent and Echostar knew it, used their stuff and then after learning how it worked opted to put out their own based on that knowledge, they should be forced to pay some serious bucks.
Plus, at the very least, even if the judge lets them sell, Tivo should be getting a licensing fee for each and every player sold by Echostar. Perhaps that fee should temporarily be set aside in an escrow account until the final disposition of the matter.
This isn't something lame, like patenting the use of a FILE menu structure, this is virtually inventing a technology from scratch and having one of your licensees rip you off, it seems. That is lame on any level.
Kinda like how Microsoft worked with I think it was STACKER saying they wanted to evaluate their technology for licensing and inclusion in their OS only to decide later on to "develop their own technology" called DoubleSpace or what not. They set 'em up to learn how they did what they did with the technology and opted to go behind their back, breaching good faith, and sell their own product based on what they learned.
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Good for Echostar. Good for consumers.
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What arossetti said!
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