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.

Just about everybody and their mom has been applying for (bizarre) DVR-related patents lately. Today I’ll spotlight IBM, who wants to own the rights of presenting “instant replay” content within a window. But wait, that’s not all… if you order now, they’ll also store that video right on your remote control’s “non-volatile” memory! And I don’t know why…

IBM says: The invention provides systems, apparatus and methods for recording a television broadcast, and a retrospective section of the record. These enable a television viewer to use a television control to select and store a retrospective section of a recorded television channel, while watching the channel. The retrospective section typically comprises a section of the channel that has just been watched by the viewer, so that an immediate replay of the retrospective section corresponds to an “instant” replay. An example method includes the steps of generating a record of the television broadcast, and operating a television remote control to select from the record, while viewing the television broadcast, a retrospective section of the record. The method further may include storing the retrospective section in the television remote control.

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Lucent brainiacs have filed a patent application for a DVR sleep detector. They envision a DVR-integrated “apparatus” which pauses TV playback once an individual has fallen asleep. Upon regaining consciousness, DVR playback resumes. The application covers both video surveillance and physiological monitoring to determine wakefulness. No word on how they’ll handle those risqué folks who watch TV together.

Lucent says:
[0011] The sleep detector may comprise an electronic camera for forming images of the viewer, and pattern recognition means connected to the electronic camera to monitor the physical condition of the viewer. For example, the pattern recognition means determine whether the viewer’s eyes are open or shut. The apparatus may further include logic means connected to receive output from the pattern recognition means to distinguish normal blinking from the onset of sleep.

[0012] Alternatively, the sleep detector may comprise a device wearable by the viewer for monitoring the physical condition of the viewer. For example, the wearable device may include one or more of an accelerometer, a heat flux sensor, a galvanic skin response sensor, a skin temperature sensor and a near-body ambient temperature sensor.

[0013] The sleep detector may be connected to the digital video recorder via direct electrical connection or via a remote-control type interface.

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TiVo’s got another patent in the pipeline this month. This new patent application describes the use of Closed Captioning meta-data as a means of communicating with the TiVo unit. For example, if the tag embedded in a regular Coke commercial appears during broadcast TV and I’ve opted-in to TiVo’s ad search, my box can replace the ad with additional/different Coke content that’s been previously downloaded. This patent appears to also cover the currently existing Thumbs Up ads.

US Patent application says: A closed caption tagging system provides a mechanism for inserting tags into an audio or video television broadcast stream prior to or at the time of transmission. The tags contain command and control information that the receiver translates and acts upon. The receiver receives the broadcast stream and detects and processes the tags within the broadcast stream which is stored on a storage device that resides on the receiver. Program material from the broadcast stream is played back to the viewer from the storage device. Tags indicate the start and end points of a program segment. Program segments such as commercials are automatically replaced by the receiver with new program segments that are selected based on various criteria.

Wow, this sure came out of left field. TiVo has applied for a patent allowing customization of remotes and PVRs based on personalized preferences provided via RFID. They describe a variety of scenarios and hardware such as providing customized hotel television viewing and adopting the technology within mobile multimedia devices. No telling when or if this will ever make it to market.

US Patent Application says: A multimedia mobile personalization system provides a remote control that detects a user’s electronic tag, e.g. an RFID tag. The remote control notifies a multimedia device of the user’s identity. The multimedia devices tailors it operations to the user’s preferences stored locally. Multimedia content such as broadcast or recorded television programs, music play lists, and the like could be sorted, displayed, or restricted, depending on the user identifier.

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DirecTV starts peddling their new DVR this week, but in the long run will it be competition or commission for TiVo? If TiVo is able to prevail in defending their “time warp” patent versus Dish Network, with court proceedings beginning this week, they should be able to work out royalty arrangements with other DVR providers… in or out of court.

Rocky Mountain News says: The question of who owns the rights to technology that revolutionized the way people watch TV goes to trial this week in a Texas courtroom.

TiVo Inc. alleges that EchoStar Communications Corp., operator of the Dish Network satellite- television service, infringed on a patent central to digital-video recorders, devices that allow viewers to pause live TV and skip commercials.

At stake for Douglas County- based EchoStar are unspecified monetary damages and the risk that it might be forced to modify many of its receivers. That’s if the company is found liable for infringing on TiVo’s “time warp” patent, which allows viewers to record a program while replaying another. For TiVo, which pioneered the DVR technology - only to see satellite and cable companies create their own versions - the case could set a precedent as to whether it can sue other companies that have introduced competing products.