p2pnet - rss feed: TiVo wins against EchoStar
p2p news / p2pnet: There’s good reason for the smile on the face of the TiVo guy.
The company has emerged the victor at the conclusion of its controversial patent infringement lawsuit against EchoStar.
A federal jury awarded TiVo $73.9 million after finding the satellite dish provider infringed TiVo’s patents, “in a case described as ‘life or death’ for the money-losing video recorder company,” says the Los Angeles Times, going on:
“TiVo lawyers said they would seek an injunction barring EchoStar, which owns the Dish Network, from selling digital video recorders. That could help TiVo tamp down competition as it tries to build market share.”
But EchoStar calls the verdict a “first step in a very long process,” says the story.
TiVo claimed EchoStar, “violated its patent for a ‘multimedia time warping system’ to pause, rewind or fast-forward live TV programs by recording them on a hard drive,” says the Associated Press, adding:
“EchoStar’s own original box ‘didn’t work. It was a disaster,’ TiVo lawyer Sam Baxter said during closing arguments.”
Also See:
patent infringement - TiVo takes on EchoStar, April 5, 2006
Los Angeles Times - TiVo Wins EchoStar Patent Suit, April 14, 2006
Associated Press - TiVo gets $74 million in lawsuit over patent, April 14, 2006
April 14th, 2006 at 8:15 pm
‘multimedia time warping system’
That must be how they got it past the dullards at the patent office. I’ve got nothing against Tivo in particular, but this is yet another bad patent on inevitable technology. It stifles competition and innovation in the name of protecting a very broad “idea” that many could have predicted. Sure, it was a clever concept, but it involved no new technology or ideas. The only thing it can do that VHS recorders could not is playback while recording. Big friggin’ deal. That’s not enough of an “innovation” to warrant blocking competition.
Stoopid patents, the whole IP arena being totally out of control, corporations ALWAYS giving preference to stock holder interests over workers, and idiotically inflated “executive compensation” are going to topple the US economy, sure as $hit.
April 16th, 2006 at 8:13 pm
Does the patent cover a complete system or just the software used? I use the opensource alternative MythTV which is just the software. You have to build the hardware and load Linux onto it. I have to wonder if Tivo plans on going after those who make the PDVR software.