Updated: Court blocks Permanent Injuction ordering DISH DVRs disabled

I don't know but I smell a rat in all these recent developments with E*. Hostile take over by D*? or just pure coincidence that all these ruling are affecting E*?
 
TiVO wins!

So I guess this is the reason the DVR fee went up a buck... And also what Dish meant when they said NBR for the 510 was coming by the end of the summer...

They knew they would have to license TiVo... :p

(running for cover)
 
yellowdragon: That made me think of something... Imagine that Dish has been stashing the DVR fees in a "rainy day" fund. At $4.95/mo for 12 months, that's just under $60. I've no idea how many Dish customers have DVRs that require the monthly fee, but let's say 1 million. That's $60m !! Maybe there's only half a million... That's still $30m. If there are 200,000 people with those old 7x00 series DVRs, there has to be many times that who have 522, 625, 942, and 622 units.

Dish could tell TiVo "here's $40 million dollars ... we'd like to buy a one-time license fee that's open-ended". Play with that number, of course, and who thinks TiVo won't bite ??
 
hall said:
Dish could tell TiVo "here's $40 million dollars ... we'd like to buy a one-time license fee that's open-ended". Play with that number, of course, and who thinks TiVo won't bite ??
Presuming Dish doesn't get the decision overturned, Tivo is already entitled to nearly $90m after interest. I don't see Tivo settling for less then that. As I think was mentioned earlier in this thread, Tivo wants a sustained income, not just a one time infusion (although that can be nice for a startup company). At $1/receiver, and presuming Dish has 2-3m DVRs which isn't out of the rhelm of a possibility, that's 24-36m EVERY YEAR. Why settle for $40m when you can make that in 2 years or less.
 
Also this could drag out for a long time like the blackberry suit was. I'm sure the appeals court will issue a stay on the injuction pending an appeal because the courts almost always grant them.
 
TiVo Statement on Order Granting Injunction Against EchoStar

ALVISO, Calif., Aug. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- TiVo Inc. (Nasdaq:
TIVO), the creator of and a leader in television services for digital video
recorders (DVR), today announced that U.S. District Court Judge David
Folsom granted TiVo's motion for permanent injunction to prevent EchoStar
Communications Corp. (Nasdaq: DISH; "ECC") from making, using, offering for
sale or selling in the United States their DVR products at issue in the
case (DP-501, DP-508, DP-510, DP-721, DP-921, DP-522, DP-625, DP-942, and
all EchoStar DVRs that are not more than colorably different from any of
these products). Judge Folsom also ordered ECC to pay TiVo approximately
$73.992 million in damages as awarded by the jury, prejudgment interest at
the prime rate through July 31, 2006 of approximately $5.638 million, and
supplemental damages for infringement through July 31, 2006 in the amount
of approximately $10.317 million. Judge Folsom denied EchoStar's request to
stay the injunction pending appeal. The injunction extends to all of ECC's
affiliates, employees, agents and representatives, and any persons in
active concert or participation with them who have notice of the order. The
Judge's ruling is final and is appealable.

TiVo sued EchoStar in Federal District Court on January 5, 2004,
alleging that ECC and certain subsidiaries are violating U.S. Patent No.
6,233,389 issued to TiVo in May 2001, known as the "Time Warp" patent. The
Time Warp patent discloses systems and methods for the simultaneous storage
and playback of programs, supporting advanced capabilities such as pausing
live television, fast-forwarding, rewinding, instant replays, and slow
motion. On April 13, 2006, a Marshall, Texas jury concluded that EchoStar
had willfully infringed TiVo's Time Warp patent.

The company said, "TiVo is pleased that Judge Folsom has granted a
permanent injunction against EchoStar's DVR products along with
supplemental damages and interest. This decision recognizes that our
intellectual property is valuable and will ensure that moving forward
EchoStar will be unable to use our patented technology without our
authorization.

"TiVo is built on a strong foundation of innovative technology and
intellectual property. Beyond the U.S. Time Warp patent, we now hold more
than 86 patents in our worldwide patent portfolio and have more than 138
patent applications pending. TiVo has a long list of licensees in the
consumer electronics, cable and satellite markets, and we will continue to
license our technology under appropriate circumstances and arrangements. We
will also continue to vigorously defend our intellectual property for the
benefit of our licensees and shareholders."

About TiVo
Founded in 1997, TiVo pioneered a brand new category of products with
the development of the first commercially available digital video recorder
(DVR). Sold through leading consumer electronic retailers, TiVo has
developed a brand which resonates boldly with consumers as providing a
superior television experience. Through agreements with leading satellite
and cable providers, TiVo also integrates its full set of DVR service
features into the set-top boxes of mass distributors. TiVo's DVR
functionality and ease of use, with such features as Season Pass(TM)
recordings and WishList(R) searches, has elevated its popularity among
consumers and has created a whole new way for viewers to watch television.
With a continued investment in its patented technologies, TiVo is
revolutionizing the way consumers watch and access home entertainment.
Rapidly becoming the focal point of the digital living room, TiVo's DVR is
at the center of experiencing new forms of content on the TV, such as
broadband delivered video, music and photos. With innovative features such
as, TiVoToGo(TM) and online scheduling, TiVo is expanding the notion of
consumers experiencing "TiVo, TV your way." The TiVo(R) service is also at
the forefront of providing innovative marketing solutions for the
television industry, including a unique platform for advertisers and
audience measurement research. The company is based in Alviso, Calif.

This release contains certain forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These
statements relate to, among other things, TiVo's business, services,
financial statements, future product strategy, and the impact of the
EchoStar litigation. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified
by the use of forward-looking terminology such as, "believe," "expect,"
"may," "will," "intend," "estimate," "continue," or similar expressions or
the negative of those terms or expressions. Such statements involve risks
and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to vary materially from
those expressed in or indicated by the forward-looking statements. Factors
that may cause actual results to differ materially include delays in
development, competitive service offerings and lack of market acceptance,
as well as the other potential factors described under "Risk Factors" in
the Company's public reports filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
fiscal year ended January 31, 2006, as updated by subsequent Quarterly
Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K. The Company cautions
you not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which
reflect an analysis only and speak only as of the date hereof. TiVo
disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.


SOURCE TiVo Inc.
 
shanewalker said:
Tivo is to DVRs, as Creative is to MP3 players (their suits against Apple were/are a joke)...they're becoming bitter wallflowers, resentful of the marketplace leaving them in the lurch, and are pathetically relying on lawsuits as a source of income.

Hey, here's an idea Tivo--build some HD DVRs that people want to buy and back off the subscription price gouging, then maybe you wouldn't see your competitors leaving you in the dust!
Interesting.

TiVo, for lack of a better term, invented the ability to play, pause, rewind and fast-forward a recorded show while another show is recording, with a method that doesn't require two or more processors (which would make the DVR cost-prohibitive).

Why should Dish Network be allowed to rip that off?
 
Hi there!

What would be the cheapest way of hooking up two HDTV's in two seperate rooms? The main HDTV is in the living room, and the second one is in the kitchen on the counter. The HDTV in the living room has the receiver. We don't want to watch two different channels, just get the same signal in the kitchen. Any suggestions would help.

Thank you,
Jerry B.
 
Federal Appeals Court issues stay

EchoStar Announces Federal Circuit Blocks Tivo Injunction
ENGLEWOOD, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 18, 2006--EchoStar Communications Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH) issued the following statement regarding recent developments in the Tivo Inc. v. EchoStar Communications Corp. lawsuit:

"We are pleased that this morning, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. temporarily blocked an injunction issued by a Texas Court, while it considers a longer-term stay of that injunction.

As a result of the stay EchoStar can continue to sell, and provide to consumers, all of its digital video recorder models. We continue to believe the Texas decision was wrong, and should be reversed on appeal. We also continue to work on modifications to our new DVRs, and to our DVRs in the field, intended to avoid future alleged infringement."

About EchoStar

EchoStar Communications Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH) serves more than 12.46 million satellite TV customers through its DISH Network(TM), the fastest growing U.S. provider of advanced digital television services in the last five years. DISH Network offers hundreds of video and audio channels, Interactive TV, HDTV, sports and international programming, together with professional installation and 24-hour customer service.
 
hall said:
Dish could tell TiVo "here's $40 million dollars ... we'd like to buy a one-time license fee that's open-ended". Play with that number, of course, and who thinks TiVo won't bite ??
Uh...

Court awards TiVo $90 million and Dish Network will have to cut-off all DVR's in 30 days, pending any appeals that would stay the injunction.

Like I said earlier, TiVo has all the cards:
Hey Dish Network, give us $60 million, a dollar a DVR receiver per month, and dismiss the pending patent litigation, or we'll let the injunction take hold.
 
From the retailer website...
IMPORTANT ALERT - ECHOSTAR ANNOUNCES FEDERAL CIRCUIT BLOCKS TIVO INJUNCTION
EchoStar Communications Corporation issued the following statement regarding recent developments in the Tivo Inc. v. EchoStar Communications Corp. lawsuit:

“We are pleased that this morning, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. temporarily blocked an injunction issued by a Texas Court, while it considers a longer-term stay of that injunction.

As a result of the stay EchoStar can continue to sell, and provide to consumers, all of its digital video recorder models. We continue to believe the Texas decision was wrong, and should be reversed on appeal. We also continue to work on modifications to our new DVRs, and to our DVRs in the field, intended to avoid future alleged infringement.”
 
Geronimo said:
What is your basis for that?
Common Law. A consumer has a reasonable expectation their warranted devices will work for the intended purpose through the stated warranty period. As long as the company hasn't filed for bankruptcy protection, they are under a legal obligation to honor their warranty. In the case of my ViP622 receivers, I purchased them to be used with Dish Network's DVR services. Additionally, since they cannot be used with other providers offering DVR services (i.e. DirecTV, Comcast), then E* would be violating the warranty by disabling DVR functionality. Why would someone purchase a DVR that can't perform basic DVR functions? That's why VOOM refunded the purchase price to all owners who were still active subscribers at the time VOOM DBS operations were terminated. VOOM DBS (aka Cablevision) did not do this because they were being nice, they did it under the advise of their staff attorneys. E* would be required to honor the warranty of all affected DVRs or open themselves up for litigation (Class Action lawsuit) - besides the bad press, they would get their asses handed to them by the court.

According the Dish Networks "Residential Agreement" (a legal document):

D. DISH Network's PVR/DVR Products allow you to record programming in digital format.

Hypothetical: What if E* were to remove parts of the Tivo patented code from their DVR software that a) no longer infringed upon the Tivo's patent, but b) downgraded the Dish Network DVR experience (sucks just as bad as cable). On one hand, customers can still use their DVR for the stated purpose; also, Dish Network states the following in their "Residential Agreement":

C. DISH Network reserves the rights to alter software, features and/or functionality in your DISH Network receivers, provide data and content to Personal Video Recorder/Digital Video Recorder (“PVR/DVR”) products, store data and content on the hard drives of PVR/DVR products, and send electronic counter-measures to your DISH Network receivers, through periodic downloads.

There is no doubt that Dish Network may legally alter/modify the software on your DVR. However, there is no doubt they devices must, "record programming in digital format."

Most people purchased a ViP622 because it had an outstanding list of supported features. Don't consumers have a reasonable expectations to continue to receive these features? Although Dish Network can modify software, hasn't it been standards "industry practice" to provide additional features/enhancements/performance to all satellite receivers. The court would be inclined to ask, "Does a customer purchasing a Dish Network DVR, with the stated features of a, b, c, d, and e, believe that future software enhancement would render the devices less capable by only support features a, b and c?

If the patent is not over turned as being too generic as a matter of Patent Law, then E* is going to have to pay Tivo for patent infringement and future licensing. If not, E* had better get ready to buy back a lot of DVRs.

This is merely my opinion...
 
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