TiVo seeks halt to EchoStar’s digital video-recording business

[Scott Greczkowski]

TiVo seeks halt to EchoStar’s digital video-recording business

By News wire reports
May 23, 2006

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/tech/article/0,2777,DRMN_23910_4720654,00.html

TiVo Inc., the pioneer in home digital-television recording, asked a U.S. judge to shut down the rival service offered by EchoStar Communications Corp.
TiVo won a jury verdict in April that EchoStar infringes a TiVo patent for products that let a viewer record one TV program while watching another. U.S. District Judge David Folsom, who presided over the trial in Texarkana, Texas, is to oversee a trial next month on whether the patent can be enforced.

"Each day EchoStar is allowed to continue its infringement, EchoStar takes subscribers that would otherwise be TiVo’s," TiVo wrote in a document available on the court’s Web site. "TiVo is a small company with essentially one product — its patented DVR technology. If TiVo cannot deliver this technology, its current business will fail."

TiVo, based in Alviso, California, has posted losses every year since going public in 1999. The company sells its DVR device directly to consumers and provides its service to DirecTV Group Inc., which is developing a competing digital video-recording service.

EchoStar, based in Englewood, Colorado, has vowed to challenge the jury verdict. It also will seek a ruling that the patent is unenforceable at the trial set for June 26 and 27.

EchoStar spokeswomen Heather Black and Kathie Gonzalez didn’t immediately return voicemail messages seeking comment.

 

[abricko]

They are sooo right... I would be paying Tivo right now (for them to provide me guide data and SD / Re-encoded video recording) if Dish didn't force me to own their HD DVR!

 

[Curtis0620]

They are sooo right... I would be paying Tivo right now (for them to provide me guide data and SD / Re-encoded video recording) if Dish didn't force me to own their HD DVR!

You're right. You would have a HD DishTiVo.

 

[stone phillips420]

I for one hope tivo wins suit, hit dish where it hurts
i prefer tivo boxes to tivolike devices

 

[minorthr]

it certainly would create a very big problem for dish if they had to turn all their dvrs into door stops. Think of the customer service nightmare that is.

 

[Juan]

Nahh worst case scenarion E* pays tivo a "license" fee

 

[abricko]

No it's about choice... I don't care for Tivo's products (and their recent onslaught of *clever* ways to feed you ads) and I'm glad I can choose other products... I'm glad E* looked at the Tivo prototype and said, we'll make our own, and as far as I can tell they didn't rip off Tivo (otherwise we'd have more features and the units wouldn't be as buggy as they are?)

It also can go the other way, if Tivo didn't have Satellite and Cable to provide *their* service, Tivo would be severely limited... because OTA alone doesn't satisfy most people... otherwise why would be be on this forum?

I also agree E* could be doing a better job with their DVR software (maybe via a more polished product, myth tv or tivo), but I'm still pretty happy with my E* DVR and would never go back to Tivo unless E* was forced to use Tivo software OR Tivo launches their own satellites and can provide the mountain of (HD / SD) programming options E* does.

 

[stone phillips420]

how bout 5.99 license fee plus 6.99 activation fee both per month for every dish dvr out there ie 7100-622
that sounds fair to me

 

[Juan]

HMM does tivo even MAKE mpeg 4 machine?? If not how could E* copy them?

 

[stone phillips420]

HMM does tivo even MAKE mpeg 4 machine?? If not how could E* copy them?

is 622 really mpeg4
you got me on that one 7100-942 then

 

[riffjim4069]

Tivo had some innovative ideas, but the real culprit is their failing to market their wares and not someone else (E*, Sony, others) successfully using similar technology. Sorry, but I agree that Tivo's patents are akin to trying to licensing the processes of breathing and eating. If Tivo eventually triumphs, then each and every consumer will take it in the shorts for years to come.

 

[stone phillips420]

as if dish customers dont already nickel and dime fees are bs.

 

[csschrot]

I believe the 7100 and 7200 were out before Tivo even came along. Also the 7100 and 7200 were a partner with microsoft if I remember right. I think that is why they were excluded in the original lawsuit.

If I do remember correctly maybe that is part of the counter suit the Echo has against Tivo.

 

[jrfuda]

Tivo had some innovative ideas, but the real culprit is their failing to market their wares and not someone else (E*, Sony, others) successfully using similar technology. Sorry, but I agree that Tivo's patents are akin to trying to licensing the processes of breathing and eating. If Tivo eventually triumphs, then each and every consumer will take it in the shorts for years to come.

Well said. I think it's a bunch of BS the way some "patents" are enforced today. Your "breathing and eating" analogy is a good one. I wonder if we could start patenting existing concepts that are not currently patented (which in another thread, someone pointed out that TiVo's concept was already in use by the broadcast industry long before TiVo ever patented it - so they essentially patented an existing idea).
Take a look at this: http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aacarsseldona.htm Now, that's probably not the BEST case in the world to present since the "road engine" never actually worked, but just imagine if all car manufacturers, who have since improved greatly on the design of the "road engine", of which their designs were probably not actually based on anyway, still had to pay loayalties to the inventor of the "road engine."

I'm all for patents and protecting inventors' rights. I think TiVo's software should be protected, I think their unique hardware designs (circuit boards, chipsets and combinations thereof) should be protected, their goofy little logo should be protected, but the "idea" of recording one thing on a HDD while watching another is bogus... Heck, I was doing that with the "TV/VCR" button on my VCR 20 years ago!

 

[stone phillips420]

I believe the 7100 and 7200 were out before Tivo even came along. Also the 7100 and 7200 were a partner with microsoft if I remember right. I think that is why they were excluded in the original lawsuit.

If I do remember correctly maybe that is part of the counter suit the Echo has against Tivo.

i could of sworn somewhere there was a 7200 settlement dish barred from talking about it due to non disclosure agreementt but i know there was something where the 7100-7200 customers were at one time being offered $25 bill credit plus 8 ppv coupons or something very similar

 

[goaliebob99]

Is there a way to turn off software updates so that way if they try forcing a software update to turn off the dvr features it wont do it?

 

[mikew]

I predict the shutoff to occur one week after NBR comes to the 5XX series.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

When Starz HD and NFL HD launch next week we will see our first national MPEG4 HD programming.

 

[bcope9]

Time to get out the ole Magic 8 Ball...

 

[csschrot]

mikew, so you are saying it won't happen.