[Satellite Today – 4-14-08] The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C. did not grant EchoStar Communications Corp. a rehearing for its Feb. 1 ruling in favor of TiVo Inc.’s patent infringement lawsuit, EchoStar announced April 11.
    In February, a three-judge panel affirmed an April 13, 2006 jury verdict in Marshall, Texas that EchoStar had willfully infringed TiVo’s patent on “time-warp” technology for digital video recorders. The appellate decision also upheld all damages claims against Echostar as well as an injunction preventing EchoStar from using TiVo’s technology. The panel awarded $94 million to TiVo.
    EchoStar said in a statement that the decision would not affect customers.
     "We are disappointed that the Federal Circuit did not grant our petition for rehearing. The decision, however, will have no effect on our current or future customers because EchoStar’s engineers have developed and deployed ‘next-generation’ DVR software to our customers’ DVRs. This improved software is fully operational, has been automatically downloaded to current customers, and does not infringe the TiVo patent at issue in the Federal Circuit’s ruling.
    EchoStar intends to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.