Court Finds E*hoStar In Contempt In TiVo Case

[mjl12407]

Court Finds E*hoStar In Contempt In TiVo Case
Satellite Operator Ordered to Pay DVR Company Additional $103 Million


A federal court Tuesday ordered E*hoStar Communications -- now part of D*sh Network -- to pay TiVo an additional $103 million after finding the satellite operator in contempt of an order that it stop using a key TiVo DVR patent.

The U.S District Court for the Eastern District of Texas decision found that D*sh's "workaround" DVR technology infringed TiVo's intellectual property, and ordered D*sh to disable the DVR functionality of the approximately 4 million set-tops originally covered under the injunction within 30 days.

D*sh Network, in a statement Tuesday, said existing customers with DVRs are not immediately affected by the ruling. The company said it would appeal the decision, and planned to file a motion to stay the order.

"We are disappointed in the district court's decision finding us in contempt," D*sh said in a statement. "We believe a stay is warranted and that we have strong grounds for appeal. Our engineers spent close to a year designing-around TiVo's patent and removed the very features that TiVo said infringed at trial."

Analysts said the decision made it more likely that D*sh Network would enter into a licensing agreement with TiVo.

"While D*sh could continue go it alone (e.g, appeal today's ruling and win, design a new workaround), we believe that today's ruling increases the likelihood that a commercial licensing pact between TiVo and D*sh will eventually be signed, which would increase costs for D*sh," Credit Suisse analyst Spencer Wang wrote in a research note.

The Texas court had previously ruled that E*hoStar infringed TiVo's "Time Warp" patent for DVR controls, and awarded TiVo $104.6 million in damages including interest and supplemental damages accrued through Sept. 8, 2006. E*hoStar paid the damages last October after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the case.

In a statement, TiVo said: "We are extremely gratified by the Court's well reasoned and thorough decision, in which it rejected E*hoStar's attempted workaround claim regarding the TiVo patent, found E*hoStar to be in contempt of court and ordered the permanent injunction fully enforced... E*hoStar may attempt to further delay this case but we are very pleased the Court has made it clear that there are major ramifications for continued infringement."

[Gibson49]

IF.... this is current? and I assume so OUCH!
The last charlie Chat I watched they said it was all settled and problem over.
Now this and a added fine. So who was lying on charle chat guess who, Charlie and
that other guy, his side kick!


D*sh Network, in a statement Tuesday, said existing customers with DVRs are not immediately affected by the ruling. The company said it would appeal the decision, and planned to file a motion to stay the order.

"We are disappointed in the district court's decision finding us in contempt," D*sh said in a statement. "We believe a stay is warranted and that we have strong grounds for appeal. Our engineers spent close to a year designing-around TiVo's patent and removed the very features that TiVo said infringed at trial."

Wonder what this will do to the 501 series of PVR's ????

NOT immediately affected by the ruling Hmmmm ? wonder what is to come?