Patent Law

The following is excerpted from an Associated Press August 5, 2009 article at Forbes:

Dish Network Corp. said Tuesday that it has received an initial favorable ruling related to its patent fight with TiVo Inc.

The satellite TV operator, and sister company EchoStar Corp., said the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has rejected TiVo's software claims that lay at the heart of their lawsuit.

The patent fight revolves around TiVo's "time-warp" technology, which lets viewers rewind, pause or fast-forward live TV.

TiVo said the finding is preliminary and the company hasn't yet had the opportunity to present its views.

TiVo sued Dish in 2004, alleging that Dish infringed on its DVR technology. Dish lost and was ordered to pay $105 million to TiVo. While the case was on appeal, Dish designed a modified software that it downloaded to customers' DVRs.

But TiVo said the workaround software still infringed on its patent and asked the district court for a permanent injunction. TiVo prevailed but Dish appealed the ruling.

See the full article here.