HDTV/3D TV News
Website: Rapid TV News
With the threat of having to somehow or other isolate 8m DVR set-top boxes from their inner workings, Dish Network is reportedly seeking a workaround the pesky TiVo patents that control some of the Dish box’s functionality.
A confidential technological solution has been filed March 9 with the Federal Court in Marshall, Texas, where the local judge must pre-approve any suggested change, and examine whether the plan contravenes TiVo’s patents.
Last week an appeal court ruling upheld the lower court’s verdict that TiVo was entitled to continued damages, even though Dish Network (and EchoStar) had claimed that a previous ‘workaround’ avoided any conflicts or infringements.
The dilemma is now extremely pressing for Dish Network.
Judge David Folsom has already ruled that Dish Network must cease supplying DVRs.
That ruling was set aside while the appeal was running.
With the appeal now lost Dish finds itself in the dangerous area of continuing to supply DVRs without an approved and agreed workaround in place.
EchoStar/Dish have claimed that they had 15 software engineers working for 8000 hours over the previous year on a workaround.
And Dish Network knows it is on very shaky ground, having heard the judge in its case order them to connect to the DVR boxes via the Web and destroy the functionality!
The ruling said: “(1) to stop making, using, offering to sell, and selling the receivers that had been found infringing by the jury (the “infringement” provision) and (2) to disable the DVR functionality in existing receivers, with the exception of select receivers that had already been placed with its subscribers (the “disablement” provision)”.
As part of an initial appeal, EchoStar did not appeal the grant of the permanent injunction.
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