This is just one of many such lawsuits that have been filed against some or all of such companies, including the infamous TiVo patent against Echostar/Dish. Gemstar/TV Guide was another that ended pretty well, a settlement, for Dish and TV Guide after a judge threw out the results of the original trail, in which Echostar prevailed.

It's not Dish, and it's not Charlie. It is the greedy little monsters who can't make a go of their business--TiVo was and is still bleeding sub and losing $$$ as their current business model is a failure--and seek to file a patent infringement suit in the hopes of having enough leverage to get a fat settlement. Cable, Dish, Direct, et al. have many more suits just like these still on-going and still being filed. It's a sad scam. One can't blame Charlie for fighting as he has prevailed in the past, and it certainly seems that TiVo's patent in nearly just as too broad as this one's.