Judge orders EchoStar's digital video recorder service shut down

[malore]

From news article

"A U.S. District Judge Thursday ordered satellite TV provider EchoStar Communications Corp. (DISH) to stop selling and turn off about four million of its digital video recorders within 30 days. The judge also ordered EchoStar to pay $89.6 million in damages.

The decision comes after a federal jury in April determined that EchoStar willfully infringed on TiVo Inc.'s (TIVO) "time-warp" patent, which controls the way a DVR simultaneously records one program while playing back another. "

[Mahoney]

What is the time-warp patent? It sounds like what every DVR does!

[malore]

Exactly, which is why I think this story is of interest to the SageTV community.

I believe the following is a quote from a Tivo press release.
"Key TiVo inventions protected by this patent include a method for recording one program while playing back another; watching a show as it is recording; and a storage format that supports advanced capabilities -- such as pausing live television, fast-forwarding, rewinding, instant replays, and slow motion."

[SHS]

Yes it not looking good but Dish will likely appeals to block an injunction issued by a Texas Court yesterday

[Mahoney]

What the hell is it with all this patenting of the patently obvious? To all intents and purposes they are trying to patent the fact that a hard drive can read and write - or even worse, that one hard drive can write while another reads. That, and the fact that a computer can do more than one thing at once.

[JUC]

This isn't going anywhere....

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."