Shares in TiVo fell by over 40% on Friday after the United States Court of Appeals in Washington agreed to a request by satellite platform Dish for a full review of its patent dispute with the DVR specialist. A panel of 10 judges will now reconsider the March 4 court ruling.
A statement from TiVo expressed disappointment at the decision: “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.”
The six-year old dispute that has seen Dish chief executive Charlie Ergen admit that he was prepared to remotely disable the DVR functionality has so far run up $400 million in costs and damages.
“Dish Network and EchoStar 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,” said a Dish Network statement.
The case began in 2004, when TiVo sued Dish over the ability of its technology to store and retrieve video from the DVR. Dish lost the case and subsequently redesigned the software to avoid any potential breach. However, a judge in a Texas court said Dish remained in breach of a permanent injunction he had imposed.
Having begun life as the supplier of DVR services, TiVo’s new Premiere box acts as a hybrid to bring together content from a variety of sources. The strategy has reinvigorated enthusiasm for TiVo in Europe, picking up a significant order from Virgin Media, and signing a marketing pact with Conax.
