TiVo scores patent win against EchoStar | CNET News.com:


update A Texas jury has awarded TiVo $73.9 million in damages after finding that EchoStar infringed on patents held by TiVo for digital video recorders.

TiVo sued EchoStar in 2004 for violating a patent on a "multimedia time warping system," which involved recording a program on one channel while watching another. The case was being closely watched by TiVo investors. The company has struggled to grow as set-top box makers incorporate DVR capabilities in their products.

"This decision recognizes that our intellectual property is valuable, and will ensure that moving forward EchoStar and any others that want to use our patented technology will be required to provide us with compensation," TiVo said in a statement.

EchoStar plans to appeal the verdict, it said in a statement. "This is the first step in a very long process and we are confident we will ultimately prevail. Among other things, we believe the patent--as interpreted in this case--is overly broad given the technology in existence when TiVo filed its patent...Additionally, the Patent Office is in the process of reexamining TiVo's patent, having determined there is a substantial question concerning the validity of the patent."