Alviso, Calif. – A federal appeals court stayed a permanent injunction won by TiVo that stopped EchoStar from selling its digital video recorders in the United States.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit granted the request of EchoStar to stay the permanent injunction imposed by the U.S. District Court to prevent the satellite provider from making, using, offering for sale or selling in the U.S.
On April 13, a Marshall, Texas jury concluded that EchoStar had willfully infringed TiVo’s Time Warp patent in making its own digital video recorder.
In a prepared statement TiVo said, “We are confident that the jury’s decision in TiVo’s favor will be upheld once the Federal Circuit has the opportunity to review the entire record in this case. It is important to note that most injunctions in patent cases are stayed pending appeal, and the appeal itself will be decided on a totally different standard of review.”
In its statement EchoStar noted, “We are pleased the federal court found that EchoStar has a ‘substantial case on the merits’ and blocked the Texas decision for the duration of the appeal. This action by the federal court reinforces our belief that the Texas court made significant errors during the trial process and we look forward to complete vindication of our position. As a result of the Court action, our customers will not be disrupted and all of our DVR models will continue to be available through the EchoStar distribution system.”
