TiVo, EchoStar joust on patent office ruling
By David B. Wilkerson, MarketWatch
Last Update: 4:52 PM ET May 24, 2006
CHICAGO (MarketWatch) - TiVo Inc. and EchoStar Communications Corp. each claimed a measure of victory Wednesday following a ruling by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's on claims made by TiVo in its patent infringement lawsuit against EchoStar.
TiVo (TIVO) is the pioneer of digital video recording technology, which allows users to pause, rewind, and instantly replay any live TV broadcast by recording it onto a computer hard drive. In recent years, however, it has faced increasing competition from generic DVRs offered by cable and satellite companies.
In January 2004, the company filed suit against satellite provider EchoStar (DISH), alleging that EchoStar violated its "time warp patent," which enables the TiVo DVR to record one program while playing back another.
Last month, a federal jury in Texas found that EchoStar had willfully infringed on TiVo's patent, and awarded TiVo more than $73 million in damages. TiVo then filed to obtain a permanent injunction against EchoStar's DVR products.
In its reexamination ruling Tuesday, the Patent and Trademark Office "rejected many of TiVo's claims as invalid," EchoStar said in a statement Wednesday. The company also noted that the Court of Appeals found earlier this month that the Texas court "abused its discretion" in allowing certain evidence to be withheld from the jury. EchoStar called both rulings "steps in the right direction."
TiVo, however, said in its own statement that EchoStar is putting out "misleading spin" on the case that "is quite extraordinary." The Patent and Trademark Office "confirmed the validity" of most of TiVo's 61 claims, the company said, "including two of the claims EchoStar has been found to have willfully infringed."
TiVo added that although some of its claims were rejected by the Patent and Trademark Office, it "should in no way impact the [Texas] jury verdict." TiVo promised to comment further on the situation when it reports quarterly results after the market closes on Wednesday.
TiVo shares fell 23 cents, or 3.1%, to close at $7.14, while EchoStar fell 25 cents to close at $30.10. |
