DISH Network Finally Pays TiVO

DISH Network’s long running battle with TiVO has finally come to and end….actually no, not quite yet.

While the Supreme Court did reject DISH Network’s final appeal, requiring the satellite TV company to pay TiVO $104 million dollars in damages plus interest, one final string has yet to be tied up. Current DISH DVR’s are running what Dish Network calls “work around software” that does not violate TiVo’s patents. At least so says DISH Network.

Since the Supreme Court will not hear any more of this, that decision will be made at the District level, with the possibility that DISH Network DVR’s could still be shut down. More likely is the possibility that TiVO could be awarded even more cash for any software patent violations.

The dispute originated in 2004, when TiVO initially claimed that DISH Network had violated both hardware and software patents. While initial rulings agreed with TiVO, eventually the hardware patent decision was overturned, leaving only the software patent violation.

One wonders why Charlie Ergen, DISH Network CEO continues to insist on battling TiVO. With a market capitalization of under $600 million currently, DISH Network could easily swallow TiVO and compliment the Slingbox acquisition completed late in 2007. Doing so would have saved DISH Network millions in legal and settlement fees, and given the company a clear advantage over Direct TV in the DVR market.