Software involves more than just the front-end that we see... the "cutsey" part... Fact is, the *concept* is what we all like and the problem is, that's the part that's patented.
The only thief here is DISH.
Charlie had the perfect chance to buy TiVo this time last year, but chose to waste more of our money in playing games with them. I don't think he's smart enough to buy them. He would probably pick up another bankrupt telcom with bandwidth before buying TiVo.
D* and TiVo have agreements so I'm sure it's not them. I would presume this company has something close to DVR-like technology -- does Apple ?
Time Warner, Pioneer, Scientific-Atlanta (Cisco)... ah-hah ! Cisco bought SA a few years ago but it was speculated that SA had licensing from TiVo.
I am hearing some buzz that one more MAJOR company could be getting ready to unleash on TiVO as well, if this buzz is true it may indeed be the end of TiVO.
Would YOU invest money in them now? They sure aren't going to go on long without a cash influx, if these cases continue.