EchoStar sues TiVo, Humax over patents

[riggscm]

unsure if this is posted anywhere else, but I thought this was a interesting article.
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EchoStar sues TiVo, Humax over patents


Published: May 5, 2005, 10:25 AM PDT
By Richard Shim
Staff Writer, CNET News.com

EchoStar communications has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against digital video recorder company TiVo and electronics maker Humax. The suit, filed on April 29 in U.S. district court in Texas, alleges that TiVo and Humax infringe on four EchoStar patents related to DVR technology.

TiVo filed a suit against EchoStar in January of last year alleging infringement of its "multimedia time warping system" patent. That has been a slow-moving case, with jury selection set for Oct. 4. The lawsuit figures prominently in TiVo's efforts to enforce its patent portfolio.

Humax licenses TiVo's technology and manufactures and sells consumer electronics devices that include DVR features.
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Add'l info at news.com

 

[minorthr]

I think this is more of a tactic to try to get Tivo to back off. I think Echostar knows they are going to lose the initial lawsuit so they file a suit against tivo and then drag one of their DVR makers Humax into it. What I find odd is that if the Humax unit violates the patent wouldnt the pioneer, toshiba, Phillips and Rca boxes also violate it as well and possibly the older sony units?

 

[slacker9876]

What a joke. This is as bad as SCO Unix suing IBM for Linux. Only in America....

 

[CDH]

I think this is more of a tactic to try to get Tivo to back off. I think Echostar knows they are going to lose the initial lawsuit so they file a suit against tivo and then drag one of their DVR makers Humax into it. What I find odd is that if the Humax unit violates the patent wouldnt the pioneer, toshiba, Phillips and Rca boxes also violate it as well and possibly the older sony units?

Yes, but doesn't Humax make most of the DirecTivos including the HR10-250? Could be a tactic to annoy D* as well?

CDH.

 

[LonghornXP]

Yes, but doesn't Humax make most of the DirecTivos including the HR10-250? Could be a tactic to annoy D* as well?

CDH.

I'm not sure they make current DVRs but they will be making the upcoming multiroom HD DVR and if I'm not mistaken they will also make the non multiroom HD DVR as well.

Oh and the rest is just smoke screen. One pushing the other to drop. The honest truth is that if Tivo is copying a specific hardware feature versus just an idea it would be very different outcomes. That didn't come out right what I mean is this patent is just a idea type patent instead of hardware it wouldn't hold in court for seconds. Even if this was hardware Dish would still have to prove in court that their patent is valid and not all hardware patents are truely valid even though they were given patents. Patents are only truely valid if they are questioned in court and the company that owns the patent wins.

 

[LonghornXP]

In simple terms I could patent a technique of giving a blow job and would actually get patent but as you might guess it wouldn't stand up in court. Maybe that would be a trademark not a patent but either way I could get it but it wouldn't stand in court.

 

[minorthr]

Yes, but doesn't Humax make most of the DirecTivos including the HR10-250? Could be a tactic to annoy D* as well?

CDH.

Like longhornxp said they are going to make the upcoming multiroom dvr but the current r10 boxes are made by Thomason/RCA.

Humax does make stand alone tivos as well as DVD recorders with Tivo built in.

 

[Tonedeaf]

In simple terms I could patent a technique of giving a blow job and would actually get patent but as you might guess it wouldn't stand up in court. Maybe that would be a trademark not a patent but either way I could get it but it wouldn't stand in court.

Maybe you should have said your wife could get a patent on how to.....

 

[riggscm]

In simple terms I could patent a technique of giving a blow job and would actually get patent but as you might guess it wouldn't stand up in court. Maybe that would be a trademark not a patent but either way I could get it but it wouldn't stand in court.

I'm thinkin maybe you should have said something less... I dunno... GAY.

like "patent a way of opening a beer" or "cooking brats"...

 

[LonghornXP]

I'm thinkin maybe you should have said something less... I dunno... GAY.

like "patent a way of opening a beer" or "cooking brats"...

I got my message accross didn't I! Plus the beer isn't that good because even an almost passed out drunk can still open another beer and cooking brats on a grill is as good as it gets.

 

[riggscm]

but your forgetting the soaking the brats in beer first, and then the ammount of time you leave them before turning them...

and some freaks cook them in a pan... so you know thats a patent waiting to happen right there.

regarding beer...
can any drunk open them with their navel?? again another patent...

If you get moving you could have three lawsuits in no time!

 

[cr0mag]

Anyway.... It seems to me that E* is trying a not-so creative way to throw a wrench into the works for D*'s new HD DVR systems. Hmmph.... such a "Charlie thing." If you can't beat 'em, buy 'em. If you can't buy 'em, sue 'em.

 

[Minsk1]

Anyway.... It seems to me that E* is trying a not-so creative way to throw a wrench into the works for D*'s new HD DVR systems. Hmmph.... such a "Charlie thing." If you can't beat 'em, buy 'em. If you can't buy 'em, sue 'em.

E* did not start this mess. Tivo and D* (in the shadows) started it first.

 

[cr0mag]

I'm not debating who threw the first punch, just speculating at E*'s reasoning for doing this now. If they can slow down D*'s new hardware, it would help them enormously.

 

[LonghornXP]

If Charlie lost the suit his next step would be to blow Murdock right.

 

[Zookster]

You don't think they're doing that already... "Buck and Chuck"?

 

[LonghornXP]

You don't think they're doing that already... "Buck and Chuck"?

I wonder who is doing the harder f**king!

 

[lee espinoza]

I am out of here!!! this thread is getting to gay.... EVEN FOR ME!!!