Wednesday, May 23, 2007

EchoStar Wins Patent Suit

Satellite television service provider EchoStar Communications Corp. reported Monday that it has successfully defended the patent lawsuit brought against it by Forgent Networks Inc. According to EchoStar, a Texas jury found Forgent's digital video recorder technology patent invalid and returned a verdict in EchoStar's favor. Forgent was asking for more than $200 million in damages for infringement of patents covering digital video recorder (DVR) technology. David Moskowitz, EchoStar's executive vice president and general counsel, said his company refused to settle because it always believed Forgent's patent was invalid. EchoStar was one of several cable and satellite companies sued by Forgent over its DVR patents. Based in Englewood, Colorado, EchoStar Communications operates DISH Network, a satellite television service that boasts more than 13.4 million subscribers.