Sling Media’s three Slingbox technology patent applications submitted last June have hit the US Patent Office database. Of particular interest is an allusion to the inevitable SlingCatcher device, a hardware appliance designed to receive streaming video for television display without requiring an intermediary computer. I imagine Aussie Ron can hardly wait!

The local clients can be any number of device types, including but not limited to desktop and notebook PCs, Web tablets, PDAs, embedded clients built expressly for the purposes of decoding the streams of the personal broadcaster, and other devices capable of receiving and/or playing a media stream over a network.

As with the local clients, the remote clients may include any number of device types, but not limited to desktop and notebook PCs, Web tablets, PDAs, embedded clients built expressly for the purposes of decoding the streams of the personal broadcaster, and other devices capable of receiving and/or playing a media stream over a network.

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As you know, TiVo came away with a huge patent victory versus Echostar last week. The judge hasn’t yet ruled on increasing damages for willful infringement, and not only hasn’t an injunction been awarded but apparently TiVo hadn’t even requested it as of Wednesday. Could settlement/licensing talks be going on outside of court? Regardless, TiVo’s legal team is tooting their horn this morning…

Apr 21, 2006 08:45 ET

Irell & Manella Trial Team Secures $74 Million Patent Infringement Verdict for DVR Market Leader TiVo

Jury’s finding of willful infringement by EchoStar means damages could be trebled

LOS ANGELES, Calif., April 21 — In a closely-watched trial involving one of the most popular forms of technology in the home entertainment market, law firm Irell & Manella LLP represented TiVo Inc. in its $74 million patent infringement verdict against EchoStar Communications Corp.

On April 13, a Marshall, Texas jury concluded that EchoStar had willfully infringed TiVo’s patent on its “time-warp” technology for digital video recorders (known as DVRs). Despite two weeks of testimony about complex technology and patent issues, the jurors needed only two hours and fifteen minutes of deliberations to reach the unanimous verdict.

The finding of willful infringement exposes EchoStar to potential treble damages. In addition, EchoStar faces a potential injunction that would preclude it from further distribution of infringing DVRs. TiVo’s general counsel Matthew Zinn noted after the trial that an injunction would be even more meaningful than the sheer dollar award.

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I just couldn’t seem to find the time…

• Philips patents digital flags to prevent channel changing or content advancing during commercials. (New Scientist)
• The facts and fiction of 1080p. (Team Xbox)
• Podcasts outnumber radio stations. (eWeek)
• Windows Media Player 11 to be released this summer. (Thomas Hawk)
• Portable VLC released. (PortableApps)
• Windows smart-phone maker HTC profiled. (Business Week)

This just in… TiVo won their patent infringement case versus Echostar! Once the dust settles and more details emerge, I’ll update this post.

Update 1: The Wall Street Journal, AP, and Bloomberg are reporting the award is $74 million. I haven’t found out yet what this means for current Dish DVR units. Apparently the judge in the case owns a TiVo, though members of the jury do not.

Update 2: TiVo’s stock is up $1.55 in after hours trading to $9.80… which is more than a 100% increase over the 52 week low hit last October.

Update 3: TiVo will be seeking an injunction against Dish DVR units and perhaps others. Read TiVo’s official response to the verdict here or see below. (Thanks, Davis!)

Update 4: Echostar responds here or see their statement below. Isn’t it amazing how both sides claim victory?

Update 5: The judge has the ability to adjust the award… up to tripple the $74 million presented by the jury. Deliberations took only two hours, including a cigarette break. An updated AP article can be found here.

Update 6: Some have expressed interest in reading the actual patent text. Search for patent number 6233389 here to see it.

Bloomberg says: TiVo Inc., the pioneer maker of digital video recorders, won a jury trial in a Texas lawsuit against EchoStar Communications Corp. over a patent for technology that lets a viewer record one TV program while watching another, a court official said. Details of the verdict by a federal court jury in Marshall, Texas, weren’t immediately available, said a court clerk who declined to give her name. The victory may mean TiVo, based in Alviso, California, can receive significant licensing fees for its technology, raising the cost of digital video recorders for cable and satellite companies paying for TiVo-like boxes, an analyst said.

TiVo says: TiVo is pleased that the jury found that TiVo’s pioneering time warping patent is valid and that EchoStar has been infringing on our intellectual property. TiVo is particularly gratified that the jury found that EchoStar willfully infringed on our patent and the consequences their actions had on our overall business. This decision recognizes that our intellectual property is valuable and will ensure that moving forward EchoStar and any others that want to use our patented technology will be required to provide us with compensation.

TiVo intends to seek a permanent injunction against EchoStar’s DVR products.

TiVo is built on a strong foundation of innovative technology and intellectual property. We now hold more than 87 patents in our worldwide patent portfolio and have more than 138 patent applications pending. TiVo has a long list of licensees in the consumer electronics, cable and satellite markets, and we will continue to license our technology under appropriate circumstances and arrangements. We will also continue to vigorously defend our intellectual property for the benefit of our licensees and shareholders.”

Echostar says: This is the first step in a very long process and we are confident we will ultimately prevail. Among other things, we believe the patent - as interpreted in this case - is overly broad given the technology in existence when TiVo filed its patent. We believe the decision will be reversed either through post-trial motions or on appeal. Additionally, the Patent Office is in the process of re-examining TiVo’s patent, having determined there is a substantial question concerning the validity of the patent.

DISH Network subscribers can continue to use the receivers in their homes, including their DVRs. Furthermore, TiVo dropped their claim that EchoStar’s Dishplayer 7200 DVR infringes their patent.

EchoStar looks forward to trial of its DVR patent case against TiVo in February 2007.

Huge, huge news! While not unexpected given DTV’s slow start in transitioning customers off to TiVo and the associated expenses, this is very good news for both TiVo as a company and for DirecTV TiVo customers. The original agreement was set to expire in about a year, at which point TiVo would have stopped providing service to DirecTV. Of particular interest, and surely no coincidence during the Echostar case, is the mention of a patent rights truce.

Apr 12, 2006 08:00 ET

TiVo and DIRECTV Agree to Extend Relationship for Three Years

Agreement Guarantees Quality Service for Existing DIRECTV TiVo Subscribers; Also Addresses Intellectual Property

ALVISO, Calif., April 12 — TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ:TIVO) , the creator of and a leader in television services for digital video recorders (DVR), and DIRECTV, Inc. (NYSE:DTV) , the nation’s leading digital television service provider, today announced a three-year extension to the TiVo-DIRECTV commercial agreement.

Existing DIRECTV TiVo subscribers will be able to continue to receive the award-winning TiVo(R) service, with TiVo providing ongoing maintenance and support. In addition, TiVo and DIRECTV agree not to assert patent rights against the other. The agreement also extends the advertising relationship between the two companies. DIRECTV will continue to service existing DIRECTV receivers with TiVo service. While specific financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed, the recurring monthly economics of the agreement are similar to the economics for DIRECTV receivers with TiVo service activated since 2003.

“We are pleased to have reached an agreement with DIRECTV that will allow us to continue to provide our service to the more than 2 million DIRECTV TiVo households,” said TiVo CEO Tom Rogers. “As the pioneer in the DVR market, we have created a service that is highly valued by consumers because of our technology, the wide range of our unique features and the unparalleled ease of our user experience. This agreement reflects TiVo’s popularity among DIRECTV subscribers and importantly respects the value of our intellectual property as well.”

“By extending our agreement with TiVo, we are ensuring quality support for DIRECTV customers who already own a DIRECTV TiVo unit,” said Romulo Pontual, DIRECTV’s chief technology officer. “We are pleased to cooperate with TiVo in a way that will best serve DIRECTV and our DIRECTV TiVo customers.”

To recap: TiVo has sued Echostar for infringing on their “time warping” patent. After a delay last fall, the trial finally began about two weeks ago.

Echostar has focused their defense on Dish DVR’s technical variations (”media switch“) while TiVo has been playing the role of David (versus Goliath) and is seeking $87 million in damages — a number calculated from theoretical licensing fees and potential customers.

Arguments are complete and the jury will receive instructions from the judge tomorrow to begin their deliberations. Regardless of the outcome, you can bet there will be appeals… not to mention Echostar has pending litigation against TiVo.

Marshall News Messenger says: After nine days of mind-boggling technical testimony, both sides rested Tuesday in TiVo Inc.’s patent infringement lawsuit against EchoStar Communications Corp., owner of Dish Network. U. S. District Judge David Folsom dismissed the five-man, five-woman jury shortly before 3 p.m., instructing them to return 9 a.m. Thursday and “bring a sack lunch.”

Claiming its co-founder Jim Barton was the inventor of an affordable, easy-to-use digital video recorder (DVR), TiVo is seeking $87 million in lost sales and royalties from EchoStar. According to Barton’s testimony, he and TiVo co-founder Mike Ramsay contacted EchoStar executives early on in the hopes of working out a distribution deal similar to one which TiVo negotiated with DirecTV. Barton said he explained his product in detail to EchoStar engineers and, at their request, left a prototype DVR with them. And while they promised to return the television set-top box within a couple of days, Barton said he has not seen it since.

As many of you know, the next two weeks are critical in determining TiVo Inc’s future. If they are able to prevail in defending their “time warp” patent versus Dish Network, with court proceedings beginning today, TiVo should be able to work out royalty arrangements with other DVR providers… in or out of the courtroom.

Reuters says: TiVo Chief Executive Tom Rogers last month said a Tivo victory in the case could open the door to either a bounty of payments, since TiVo could then file similar suits against other DVR distributors, or more licensing agreements. “It will certainly cause people to think long and hard not only about Tivo’s brand … and the best of our engineering, but on a whole different level of what we mean in the mix if our intellectual property is upheld in the courts,” Rogers said at the Reuters Global Technology, Media and Telecoms Summit.

Satellite providers have used DVRs, which allow viewers to pause live television and record dozens of hours of programing, to woo customers away from cable companies. In turn, more and more cable providers are placing cable boxes with DVRs in their subscribers’ homes. A court win might empower TiVo to challenge the technology in other DVRs. However, EchoStar, a far larger company than Tivo whose 2005 revenue of over $8 billion is more than 40 times that of its rival, could perhaps outlast TiVo during an extended appeals process, even if it doesn’t defeat TiVo in court.

Microsoft has submitted a patent application encompassing the construction of an electronic program guide (EPG) from a variety of sources. For example, the DVR might grab guide info from multiple feeds and then compare it to scannable channels and build a lineup grid based on the results. Doesn’t sound much different than most other modern EPGs, but hey let’s grab it and charge royalties!

Microsoft says: Methods and systems for constructing and editing electronic program guide lineups

Various embodiments provide accurate EPG lineup construction and PVR scheduling for users, regardless of their geographic location. In accordance with the described embodiments, the guide retrieves and aggregates data from multiple available sources, particularly in-band scanning and EPG metadata download. Services are then identified and sorted into logically equivalent groups. Once the services are grouped, in accordance with one embodiment, an analysis is conducted the outcome of which is directed to selecting which services to use for tuning and which services to use for scheduling on a given channel/preset. In addition, various embodiments can, in an automated fashion, assign services to presets/channels, as well as provide a user interface and methods for editing a lineup, modifying tuning information and personalizing presets/channels.