TiVo Plunges, EchoStar Gains on Court Ruling

Big news in the DVR patent wars.

Tivo

A federal appeals court said it will rehear a DVR patent dispute between TiVo and Dish Network and EchoStar.

This is a huge blow to TiVo, sending its stock tumbling more than 30 percent, and a win for Dish, its stock now up over 5 percent. EchoStar is fairly flat.

When this patent dispute started back in 2004 Dish and EchoStar were a combined company, now they're entirely separate companies with the same chairman. Though both companies have liability in the case, Dish has greater liability.

In March a panel of the Court of Appeals upheld a decision to hold Dish and EchoStar in contempt for continuing to infringe on TiVo's DVR patent technology. The sister companies have been petitioning the court to re-hear the case, which will likely have broad repercussions beyond these three companies. This case could set a precedent on the issue of "working around" a patent, and what defines patent infringement.

TiVo releasing this statement: "We are disappointed that we do not yet have finality in this case despite years of litigation but we remain confident that the Federal Circuit's ruling in our favor will be reaffirmed after all of the judges on the Federal Circuit have had the opportunity to review the merits of this case."

Dish and EchoStar also issuing a statement saying the two companies "are pleased that the full Federal Circuit Court of Appeals has granted their petition for rehearing en banc. We believe the issues that will be considered by the full court on rehearing will have a profound impact on innovation in the United States for years to come."

Questions? Comments? [e-mail]