A_Z_A
07-02-2009, 12:55 AM
D*sh Wins Stay From Appeals Court On DVR Order
Court Schedules Case in TiVo Litigation For as Soon as November
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Wednesday granted D*sh Network's motion to stay a lower court's order that would have forced the satellite TV operator to disable millions of DVRs that infringe on a key TiVo patent.
On June 2, a Texas district court ruled that D*sh's proposed workaround for TiVo's Time Warp DVR patent continued to infringe the patent. D*sh was ordered to disable some 4 million DVR receivers within 30 days and to pay TiVo another $103 million plus interest. D*sh immediately appealed the decision and the Federal Appeals Court granted a temporary stay.
In its order Wednesday, the appeals court said that "we determine based upon the arguments raised in the motion papers that E*hoStar has met its burden of demonstrating the requisites for a stay of the order, pending appeal." To win a motion staying an injunction, the court said, a party must at least "demonstrate that it has a substantial case on the merits."
The appeals court expedited scheduling for the case, with E*hoStar's opening brief due by July 17. The case will be placed on its schedule for November if possible.
In a statement, D*sh and E*hoStar said, "We are pleased that the Federal Circuit has blocked the district court's injunction pending our appeal... As a result of the stay, our customers can continue using their D*sh DVRs."
TiVo did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Refer to the attachment for the appeals court's order.
The litigation dates back to 2004, when TiVo sued E*hoStar Communications for patent infringement. (E*hoStar last year officially changed its name to D*sh Network.) A federal jury found in TiVo's favor, and the U.S District Court for the Eastern District of Texas originally ordered Dish to disable all infringing DVRs in August 2006.
D*sh earlier this month told the Texas court it was "investigating" other potential design-around options but that it was unsure if such a workaround was possible.
Analysts have expected D*sh to reach an agreement with TiVo on licensing terms for the Time Warp patent, which describes a DVR system that allows for simultaneous storage and playback of TV programming from a cable or satellite source.
"D*sh Network would now appear to have little choice but to settle," Sanford Bernstein senior analyst Craig Moffett wrote in a report following the June 2 ruling. "But at what rate? TiVo would now appear to hold all the cards."
Moffett said any settlement by D*sh "would likely be far above the licensing rates agreed to by D*recTV and Comcast a few years ago, leaving D*sh Network at a decided competitive disadvantage."
TiVo has agreements with Comcast, Cox Communications and D*recTV to provide TiVo-based DVRs to their respective subscribers. Comcast, which has offered TiVo DVR service in its New England systems since last fall, plans to launch next in Chicago and to make TiVo the "primary" DVR option in at least one yet-to-be-announced market.
Court Schedules Case in TiVo Litigation For as Soon as November
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Wednesday granted D*sh Network's motion to stay a lower court's order that would have forced the satellite TV operator to disable millions of DVRs that infringe on a key TiVo patent.
On June 2, a Texas district court ruled that D*sh's proposed workaround for TiVo's Time Warp DVR patent continued to infringe the patent. D*sh was ordered to disable some 4 million DVR receivers within 30 days and to pay TiVo another $103 million plus interest. D*sh immediately appealed the decision and the Federal Appeals Court granted a temporary stay.
In its order Wednesday, the appeals court said that "we determine based upon the arguments raised in the motion papers that E*hoStar has met its burden of demonstrating the requisites for a stay of the order, pending appeal." To win a motion staying an injunction, the court said, a party must at least "demonstrate that it has a substantial case on the merits."
The appeals court expedited scheduling for the case, with E*hoStar's opening brief due by July 17. The case will be placed on its schedule for November if possible.
In a statement, D*sh and E*hoStar said, "We are pleased that the Federal Circuit has blocked the district court's injunction pending our appeal... As a result of the stay, our customers can continue using their D*sh DVRs."
TiVo did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Refer to the attachment for the appeals court's order.
The litigation dates back to 2004, when TiVo sued E*hoStar Communications for patent infringement. (E*hoStar last year officially changed its name to D*sh Network.) A federal jury found in TiVo's favor, and the U.S District Court for the Eastern District of Texas originally ordered Dish to disable all infringing DVRs in August 2006.
D*sh earlier this month told the Texas court it was "investigating" other potential design-around options but that it was unsure if such a workaround was possible.
Analysts have expected D*sh to reach an agreement with TiVo on licensing terms for the Time Warp patent, which describes a DVR system that allows for simultaneous storage and playback of TV programming from a cable or satellite source.
"D*sh Network would now appear to have little choice but to settle," Sanford Bernstein senior analyst Craig Moffett wrote in a report following the June 2 ruling. "But at what rate? TiVo would now appear to hold all the cards."
Moffett said any settlement by D*sh "would likely be far above the licensing rates agreed to by D*recTV and Comcast a few years ago, leaving D*sh Network at a decided competitive disadvantage."
TiVo has agreements with Comcast, Cox Communications and D*recTV to provide TiVo-based DVRs to their respective subscribers. Comcast, which has offered TiVo DVR service in its New England systems since last fall, plans to launch next in Chicago and to make TiVo the "primary" DVR option in at least one yet-to-be-announced market.