Year-Long Legal Battle Finally Ends

The IT industry is one place where lawsuits spring all the time, some of them lasting years, if not decades, and it looks like a fairly long one between three multimedia electronic companies has finally ended.

With all the legal battles going on and sprouting up on the IT market, one could say it is a surprise if some IT player doesn't find a reason to engage another in court.

Likewise, compared to the frequency with which such battle start, and how long they take, hearing that one concluded at last is an arguably rare occurrence.

Fortunately, such events aren't completely unheard of, as proven by how a lawsuit that has lasted for years has finally concluded.

The action in question is a paten dispute between TiVo, Disk Networks and EchoStar, the settlement dictating that TiVo get $500 million.

$300 million will be paid upfront, while the rest will be received in yearly installments, with 2017 being the last one.

This is because Dish and EchoStar have been granted license for the Time Warp patent, among other things, so that they may make new DVR products.

"We have tremendous respect for TiVo's management, and we have always said that regardless of the outcome of the case, there were many ways that we could work together with TiVo," said Charlie Ergen, Chairman and CEO of DISH Network.

"The results of TiVo's formidable intellectual property enforcement program speak for themselves, and consequently, we are pleased to put this litigation behind us and move forward,” he added.

“Additionally, we believe that our agreement with TiVo provides us a competitive advantage as one of the few multichannel operators with rights to operate under TiVo's Time Warp patent, which ultimately will allow us to enhance the performance of our award-winning DVRs. We look forward to continuing to offer DISH Network customers the most choices in video service."

TiVo will also get an EchoStar license for DVR-related patents and will aid Dish Newtowrks in promoting the Blockbuster Digital Video Service.