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Dish Network reopens TiVo patent dispute

By AMANDA FEHD, Associated Press Writer Mon Mar 17, 8:47 PM ET

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Dish Network Corp. on Monday asked a federal appeals court to rehear a patent dispute with TiVo Inc., saying the court's earlier ruling in TiVo's favor relied on inaccurate testimony from a TiVo witness. ADVERTISEMENT

In January, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit agreed with a lower court that digital video recorders distributed by Dish, formerly known as EchoStar Communications Corp., violated the software elements of TiVo's patent.

That ruling overturned the lower court's finding that Dish infringed on the hardware elements of the patent.

At stake is $94 million in damages the lower court awarded digital video recorder maker TiVo.

In a petition filed Monday, Dish said an expert witness who testified for TiVo contradicted himself and that means the software infringement verdict wasn't "supported by substantial evidence."

A third win for TiVo will boost the DVR pioneer's negotiating power in licensing deals with cable and satellite TV providers. TiVo already has signed agreements with Comcast Corp. and Cox Communications Inc.

Satellite TV provider DirecTV Group Inc. will pay TiVo royalties through 2010, though it no longer sells TiVo-based boxes, having opted for its own DVR.

The suit comes as management at Alviso, Calif.-based TiVo struggles to turn the company toward profitability. TiVo has been in the red for most of its 11-year existence, but quarterly losses shrank in the fourth quarter, which ended January 31.