TiVo wins DishTV suit

TiVo has won their patent infringement lawsuit against Dish Network. The DVR service provider claimed victory after the Supreme Court refused to hear Dish Network’s request to invalidate the 2006 Texas District Court ruling that Dish was indeed guilty of violating TiVo’s patent for the technology that allows a TV viewer to tape a program while watching another.

TiVo filed suit in 2004, saying Dish (then known as EchoStar) was violating its patent for the technology, known as “time warping.” The court agreed and awarded them a settlement totaling nearly $74 million. Dish immediately filed an appeal but lost.

“We are extremely pleased” by the ruling, TiVo said in a statement. “We look forward to the expeditious receipt of damages awarded by the District Court covering the period through September 8, 2006 and remain confident that the District Court will enforce the injunction and award further damages from EchoStar’s continued infringement of our Time Warp patent.”

Dish claims the decision was expected and says it won’t affect production of its DVRs. They promise to pay TiVo around $100 million despite insisting their design doesn’t infringe against on theirs. They’ve also asked that TiVo’s pending motion against them for contempt be denied.

Read[PCMagazine]