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In a long-running patent infringement dispute with DISH Network Corp. and EchoStar Corp., set-top box maker TiVo Inc. was awarded an additional $103-million in damages plus interest, by a federal judge in Texas Tuesday.
TiVo, already the recipient of a 2006 jury award for $104-million in damages and lost profits, due to infringement of its digital video recorder technology patents that allow viewers to pause, rewind, instantly replay or play back any live broadcast by recording it onto a hard drive, has been involved in long-running litigation as it struggles to keep its competitive advantage in the rapidly changing TV set-top market.
As for EchoStar, it may have to pay additional damages later this summer by implementing new 'work-around' technology TiVo claimed still infringed, a direct violation of the injunction the judge placed following the jury verdict.
The legal dispute between the two dates back to 2004, when TiVo charged satellite TV provider EchoStar's DISH network system of violating TiVo's 'Time Warp' software patent that makes it possible for users to watch one programme, even while they record another.
Despite the verdict, EchoStar continued to distribute digital video recorders (DVRs), collecting subscription fees for millions of DVRs with the 'work-around' software.
Ruling in TiVo's favour on the 'work-around' issue, U. S. District Judge David Folsom ordered EchoStar to disable an infringing function on all, but 193,000 subscriber DVRs, including informing the court before attempting to implement another 'work-around' patent infringement. However, Dish customers with digital recording devices won't be affected by the ruling, immediately.
In their statement, DISH, formerly known as EchoStar Communications Corp. and EchoStar say, the court's decision will be appealed against in a federal appeal court and a motion filed to stay the order.
TiVo shares shot up 38% after-hours.
TiVo, already the recipient of a 2006 jury award for $104-million in damages and lost profits, due to infringement of its digital video recorder technology patents that allow viewers to pause, rewind, instantly replay or play back any live broadcast by recording it onto a hard drive, has been involved in long-running litigation as it struggles to keep its competitive advantage in the rapidly changing TV set-top market.
As for EchoStar, it may have to pay additional damages later this summer by implementing new 'work-around' technology TiVo claimed still infringed, a direct violation of the injunction the judge placed following the jury verdict.
The legal dispute between the two dates back to 2004, when TiVo charged satellite TV provider EchoStar's DISH network system of violating TiVo's 'Time Warp' software patent that makes it possible for users to watch one programme, even while they record another.
Despite the verdict, EchoStar continued to distribute digital video recorders (DVRs), collecting subscription fees for millions of DVRs with the 'work-around' software.
Ruling in TiVo's favour on the 'work-around' issue, U. S. District Judge David Folsom ordered EchoStar to disable an infringing function on all, but 193,000 subscriber DVRs, including informing the court before attempting to implement another 'work-around' patent infringement. However, Dish customers with digital recording devices won't be affected by the ruling, immediately.
In their statement, DISH, formerly known as EchoStar Communications Corp. and EchoStar say, the court's decision will be appealed against in a federal appeal court and a motion filed to stay the order.
TiVo shares shot up 38% after-hours.
