Thanks to a recent ruling, a huge chunk of people who have EchoStar's digital video recorder, which is the DVR supplied through Dish satellite TV, will soon find their recorder virtually useless. A Texas judge last night came to a decision in the case against EchoStar brought forth by TiVo, claiming that EchoStar willfully infringed on several copyrights owned by TiVo.

This just in:
Reuters reports that the Appeals Court Blocks TiVo Injunction.

Millions of Dish satellite subscribers will be affected. It is unclear as of yet how Dish will handle the consumer side of things, in terms of refunds and/or finding a new manufacturer for their proprietary DVRs. Out of the several million, 200,000 of the DVRs will still actually be in service since they are not part of the majority that infringe on TiVo's copyrights. Four months ago, TiVo won a civil case against EchoStar, and when combined with the new ruling yesterday, the total that EchoStar must pay to TiVo in damages is almost $90 million. The judge refused to consider arguments made by EchoStar, such as that they suffered irreperable damage because it took TiVo so long to file the suit (thus causing them a larger backlash with their customers).

Let this just be a lesson to you. If you want to get a DVR, just go with the industry leader, TiVo -- not just because you'll have less worry about lawsuits, but also because you can more appropriately adorn it with this adorable TiVo plush doll.

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Report Published by: Mark Raby