TiVo Wins Patent Validation

[HardOCP News]

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ruled against EchoStar Communications, a company that recently challenged the validity of TiVo's time-warp patent. The company has to fork over $90 million to TiVo. Ouch.

EchoStar was disappointed in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office decision but said the agency's conclusion won't affect its pending appeal of a court ruling in TiVo's favor. The court decision requires it to pay TiVo $89.6 million in damages for patent infringement and to stop distributing DVRs or to modify features of its products.

 

[FrgMstr]

Wow, that is not small taters. Gotta give it to TiVo on that. Will it kill EchoStar? I would assume so.

 

[UrielDagda]

You know, I thought patents were supposed to be to protect the creation of technologies, not to protect convenient ways to use them. I mean this patent sounds like the equivilent of patenting usage of a PC by giving the user the ability to plug a keyboard into it. Patent laws are slowly gutting the ability to have the economy be competition-driven.. Instead it's forced monopoly by patent law.

 

[horseflesh]

There is no way it will kill Echostar. Their newest DVRs dodge the patent from what I understand. The worst case is they have to replace the infringing units with newer ones that are clean, or get screwed into taking an overpriced patent licensing deal. Expensive for them, sure, but there is no way that this ruling is doing to destroy one of our two satellite TV services, particularly when most of their customers don't even use DVRs.

Echostar is a big company. They could probably figure out a way to buy Tivo if that was the best solution to their problems.

 

[Commander Suzdal]

Man, I hope it's not a big issue for them. I am a happy Dish Network customer (EchoStar) with a DVR. 100 hours of recording time for a $5 fee. If they have to do a wholesale upgrade/swapout, though, I'll have to do something about all the recorded programs that my 3-year-old watches over and over again.

 

[DocFaustus]

You know, I thought patents were supposed to be to protect the creation of technologies, not to protect convenient ways to use them. I mean this patent sounds like the equivilent of patenting usage of a PC by giving the user the ability to plug a keyboard into it. Patent laws are slowly gutting the ability to have the economy be competition-driven.. Instead it's forced monopoly by patent law.

Very well stated.

 

[demon16v]

Screw EchoStar.
TiVo should get paid for their work.
I hope this will give them a boost to make the BEST DVR even better.

 

[xX_Jack_Carver_Xx]

Once again proof positive that the patent system is totally FARKED.

DVR's are nothing more than software implementations of the VCR and therefore EVERYTHING to do with design is....

OBVIOUS UNDER THE ART

"Time warp"... oh you mean FAST FORWARD and REWIND?

Yeah, wow that's a real invention.

 

[noc_81]

Now who's to say I didn't invent it...? I invented beans too... and coffee cups... now where's my check?

 

[c.d.e]

Once again proof positive that the patent system is totally FARKED.

DVR's are nothing more than software implementations of the VCR and therefore EVERYTHING to do with design is....

OBVIOUS UNDER THE ART

"Time warp"... oh you mean FAST FORWARD and REWIND?

Yeah, wow that's a real invention.

FTFA: Time warp = Record one show while watching another.

But there is prior art. Recording one show on a vcr while using Picture in Picture, or dual tuners.