IEOR 190G: Patent Engineering Sarah C. Kabiling

 Is this just “method and system” for digitizing video onto a hard-disk for random-access playback by user?  Not just a replacement for a videotape  Not just putting in Hard-Drive  Could you record to and playback from random locations on that video tape at the same time? No! TiVo is much more than a replacement.

 Allows subscribers to play one television show while recording another and contains storage format that allows pausing LIVE TV! TIME WARPING!

 TiVo alleged that Echostar’s set-top boxes were in violation of a patent for a “multimedia time warping system”

 Interruption Tolerant Video Program Viewing (‘186)  Multimedia Direct Access Storage Device and Formatting Method (‘804 and ‘685)

 Technology in question:  Time Warping – the ability for customers to watch one show, while recording another  Hardware  Relate to the process and apparatus used to effect time shifting according to the invention  Accepting, Storing, Converting, Tuning signal  Storage of TV programs as MPEG data enables users to control playback of programs (currently broadcasted – use pause, fast forward, reverse)  Software  Relate software processes and apparatus  Buffing, decoding, separation of streams  Storage, transformation, and decoding

 How data was placed and moved  Data streams  Accused DVRs both receive television signals and store data relating to the transmission on a hard disk in Motion Picture Expert Group (MPEG) format.  MPEG stream – interleaved audio and video components  Number of steams  How streams separated  Video  Audio  Acquiring  Wording: “a/an” for different streams

 How data was processed (extracted)  Data streams  Source object  Transform object  Sink object  Control object  Wording: “object”  EchoStar wants definition to be item within a computer program (like C++)  TiVo wants “collection of data and operations” (IEEE)

 EchoStar was given an injunction for the duration of the trial.

 An equitable remedy in the form of a court order, where a party is required to do, or to refrain from doing, certain acts  For TiVo’s case, Judge decided upon injunction because TiVo was “losing market share at a critical time in the market’s development, market share that it will not have the same opportunity to capture once the market matures”  During trial, EchoStar cannot sell any more DVRs (which are in question)

 Verdict important because it is “likely to shape competition in market for digital video recorders” (Wall Street Journal)  April 2006 $74M Initial jury verdict  $33M lost profits from lost sales of set-top boxes  $41M royalties for >4 million DVR devices  August 2006  increase to $90M  Permanent injunction  Very rare  EchoStar must shut off infringing DVRs in homes within 30 days of settlement  EchoStar granted stay (refrain from permanent injunction until court can consider appeal)  TiVo spent $10.7M for legal costs fighting EchoStar