Wednesday, May 24, 2006

EchoStar, Tivo Patent Spat Continues

Englewood, Colorado-based satellite television provider EchoStar, which is being sued by digital video recorder company Tivo for patent infringement, is reporting today that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has rejected many of Tivo's patent claims. EchoStar said that the US PTO has rejected many of the claims as invalid, and that it was a step in the right direction for the firm as it prepares a response to a recently filed injunction motion by Tivo. Tivo filed an injunction this week seeking to ban EchoStar from making or selling its own digital video recorder. Tivo won a patent lawsuit against EchoStar in April, awarding Tivo about $74M for patent infringement. That award is under appeal.