MARSHALL , TEXAS – Attorneys from McKool Smith helped to successfully secure a verdict of almost $74 million on behalf of TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO). The verdict resulted from a 10-day trial in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall Division, in a patent dispute with competitor EchoStar (NASDAG: DISH).
Jurors found that EchoStar infringed upon TiVo’s “TimeWarp” patent that allows viewers to record one television program while watching another. The technology also allows for watching a show as it is recording and a storage format supporting advanced capabilities including pausing live television, fast-forwarding, rewinding, instant replays and slow motion.
The jury awarded Alviso, Calif.-based TiVo $32.66 million in lost profits from the sale of set-top boxes and $41.33 million in royalties that should have been paid by EchoStar on the sale of the company’s TiVo-like boxes. Littleton, Colo.-based EchoStar is the country’s second-largest satellite cable provider and had offered DVR for free to its DISH Network subscribers.
“Promoting DVR capabilities as part of the EchoStar system was unquestionably a selling point for their service. However, the problem is, it is not their technology to bundle for customers,” said attorney Samuel F. Baxter, a Principal in McKool Smith and TiVo’s lead trial attorney. “If someone creates a technology, you have to respect their patent. You can’t just lift it for your own use and profit without contracting with the company and paying royalties.”
McKool Smith has more than 80 attorneys in Dallas, Austin and Marshall , Texas , handling commercial and intellectual property litigation for national and international clients. The firm is recognized as one of the premier litigation law firms in the United States , having earned significant courtroom victories for clients such as Electronic Data Systems, BearingPoint, Ericsson, Medtronic, Inc., and National Instruments.