TIVO lawsuit update
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Texas Justice
To all the naysayers and the doubters concerning Tivo's victory, please look where this case was heard. The Eastern District of Texas is patent plaintiff's heaven. Quick dockets, 75 percent plaintiff victory rate. E* can claim a work around till they are blue in the face, but if the judge perceives that they are playing loose and haven't really stopped infringing E will be slammed. In reviewing the hardware claims. the judge can hold a mini trial or may entertain a motion for summary judgment. If Tivo can go by motion they basically have nothing to lose. A mini trial would probably only last a week on the specific issue. It may very well be in Tivo's interest to pursue this option to keep the heat up. E has been pretty shortsited in this matter. They could have bought the company for about three times what they will pay in damages and then would be able to pursue other infringers and would wind up with many patents, some quite valuable.
To all the naysayers and the doubters concerning Tivo's victory, please look where this case was heard. The Eastern District of Texas is patent plaintiff's heaven. Quick dockets, 75 percent plaintiff victory rate. E* can claim a work around till they are blue in the face, but if the judge perceives that they are playing loose and haven't really stopped infringing E will be slammed. In reviewing the hardware claims. the judge can hold a mini trial or may entertain a motion for summary judgment. If Tivo can go by motion they basically have nothing to lose. A mini trial would probably only last a week on the specific issue. It may very well be in Tivo's interest to pursue this option to keep the heat up. E has been pretty shortsited in this matter. They could have bought the company for about three times what they will pay in damages and then would be able to pursue other infringers and would wind up with many patents, some quite valuable.
If there are no other options, Dish will buy Tivo, but not for much cash as many think. Tivo desperately needs the new Echostar to buy it, and it can be had by means of financial legerdemain involving stocks, seats on the Echostar board, and other tricks turning the Tivo brass into new Echostar millionaires--albeit on paper, for a while until the get to sell some of it, Echostar having a much stronger future--and the bare minimum of cash to provide just enough for control, or even less cash with Echostar paying a pittance as an investor or what they call buying a "stake" in the company without buying the whole company for control, and Tivo would love the infusion of cash and a partnership with a company with the reach of Echostar trying to enter and attract the same market as Tivo (the new terrestrial Echostar boxes). Echostar/Dish will not get "slammed." But if Charlie sees the end of the road, he will take the less expensive option of kiss and make up with Tivo.
If E* does wind up taking ownership of TiVo in the future, hopefully they can bring the Series3/Tivo HD up to par with their award winning ViP622/ViP722 HD DVRs. The Series3/THD is a nice box compared to the Motorola/SA boxes, but they are slow and clunky when compared to the Dish Network HD DVR.
