Lawsuit happy TiVo, program guides & countersuits. TiVo just sell your product & stop your greed.

U.S. patents owned by TiVo:
• 6,233,389: A multimedia time-warping system for storing select TV programs while the user is simultaneously watching or reviewing another program.
• 7,529,465: Another multimedia time-warping system in which TV streams are converted in to MPEG formats and then later decoded to TV output signals and receivers.
• 6,792,195: A method and apparatus for implementing random access and time-based functions on a continuous stream of formatted digital data.

TiVo Inc. (“TiVo”) owns U.S. Patent 6,233,389 (“the ‘389 patent” or “TiVo’s patent”), which is entitled “Multimedia Time Warping System.” The patented technology allows television users to simultaneously record and play (“time-shift”) television broadcasts using what is commonly known as a digital video recorder (“DVR”). A DVR allows users to fast-forward, rewind, pause, and replay a “live” television program while it is playing on the television set. TiVo’s patent covers various features essential to the working of a DVR.

Claim 31 of the ‘389 patent is the first of the two software claims. It provides as follows:
A process for the simultaneous storage and play back of multimedia data, comprising the steps of:
[1] providing a physical data source, wherein said physical data source accepts broadcast data from an input device, parses video and audio data from said broadcast data, and temporarily stores said video and audio data;
[2] providing a source object, wherein said source object extracts video and audio data from said physical data source;
[3] providing a transform object, wherein said transform object stores and retrieves data streams onto a storage device;
[4] wherein said source object obtains a buffer from said transform object, said source object converts video data into data streams and fills said buffer with said streams;
*1418 [5] wherein said source object is automatically flow controlled by said transform object;
[6] providing a sink object, wherein said sink object obtains data stream buffers from said transform object and outputs said streams to a video and audio decoder;
[7] wherein said decoder converts said streams into display signals and sends said signals to a display;
[8] wherein said sink object is automatically flow controlled by said transform object;
[9] providing a control object, wherein said control object receives commands from a user, said commands control the flow of the broadcast data through the system; and
[10] wherein said control object sends flow command events to said source, transform, and sink objects.
‘389 patent claim 31 (emphases added). Claim 61 is similar to claim 31, except that it recites an apparatus rather than a process. See id. claim 61.

The accused EchoStar satellite television receivers can be broadly classified into two categories based on the processing chip employed by the receiver: the “50X” series and the “Broadcom” series. The district court submitted questions of infringement and invalidity to the jury. TiVo, Inc. v. Dish Network Corp., No. 2:04-CV-00001, ECF No. 690 (E.D. Tex. Apr. 13, 2006) [hereinafter Verdict Form]. On infringement, the jury was asked whether eight different models of EchoStar receivers, three of the 50X series and five of the Broadcom series, literally infringed the hardware or software claims of TiVo’s patent. Id. at 2-3. The jury answered “yes” for each of the asserted claims, for each of the eight listed receivers. Id. It also found, by clear and convincing evidence, that EchoStar’s infringement was willful, id. at 4, and awarded TiVo approximately $74 million in lost profits and reasonable royalties, id. at 8. The district court entered judgment on the verdict and issued a permanent injunction against EchoStar. In its injunction, the district court ordered EchoStar: (1) to stop making, using, offering to sell, and selling the receivers that had been found infringing by the jury (the “infringement” provision) and (2) to disable the DVR functionality in existing receivers that had already been placed with EchoStar’s customers and in new placements that were yet to be placed with EchoStar’s customers (the “disablement” provision). The infringement provision reads:

A broadcast recording and playback device employing a "circular buffer" which constantly records one or more incoming audio or video program signals and a microprocessor for accessing the memory to read a playback signal from the circular buffer to display programming material delayed from its receipt by a selectable delay interval. The circular buffer is implemented by a digital memory. Subsystem comprising the combination of a semiconductor RAM memory and a disk memory operated under the control of a microprocessor such that incoming signals are constantly recorded as received while, at the same time, delayed signals are being read from the memory subsystem at a different memory location selected by a microprocessor to provide a user-selected time delay. A plurality of input signal processors provides one or more programming signals to the memory subsystem in compressed digital form and a separate output signal processor converts the compressed digital information read from the memory into a form suitable for display. The audio/video buffer system operates under the control of a microprocessor which accepts commands from a remote command device or a connected host computer.

A multimedia time warping system. The invention allows the user to store selected television broadcast programs while the user is simultaneously watching or reviewing another program. A preferred embodiment of the invention accepts television (TV) input streams in a multitude of forms, for example, National Television Standards Committee (NTSC) or PAL broadcast, and digital forms such as Digital Satellite System (DSS), Digital Broadcast Services (DBS), or Advanced Television Standards Committee (ATSC). The TV streams are converted to an Moving Pictures Experts Group (MPEG) formatted stream for internal transfer and manipulation and are parsed and separated it into video and audio components. The components are stored in temporary buffers. Events are recorded that indicate the type of component that has been found, where it is located, and when it occurred. The program logic is notified that an event has occurred and the data is extracted from the buffers. The parser and event buffer decouple the CPU from having to parse the MPEG stream and from the real time nature of the data streams which allows for slower CPU and bus speeds and translate to lower system costs. The video and audio components are stored on a storage device and when the program is requested for display, the video and audio components are extracted from the storage device and reassembled into an MPEG stream which is sent to a decoder. The decoder converts the MPEG stream into TV output signals and delivers the TV output signals to a TV receiver. User control commands are accepted and sent through the system. These commands affect the flow of said MPEG stream and allow the user to view stored programs with at least the following functions: reverse, fast forward, play, pause, index, fast/slow reverse play, and fast/slow play.

In 1981 United Video Satellite Group launched the first North American EPG service, known simply as The Electronic Program Guide channel.

In 1986, STV/Onsat, a paper programing guide company, introduced SuperGuide- an interactive electronic programming guide for home satellite dish viewers.

In June 1988 US 4751578 was awarded to Eli Reiter, Michael H. Zemering, and Frank Shannon. This patent concerned the implementation of a searchable electronic program guide – an interactive program guide (IPG).

In 1996 Prevue Networks introduced the first IPG service in the United States, Prevue Interactive, designed for the General Instruments DCT 1000 series of set-top digital cable boxes. Prevue Interactive would later become TV Guide Network, and then i-Guide.

Gemstar, (founded by Henry Yuen, Daniel Kwoh and Wilson Cho), merged with TV Guide, Inc. (formerly United Video Satellite Group), in July, 2000.

December 7, 2007, Gemstar signed a definitive agreement to be acquired by Macrovision (now Rovi Corporation)

NDS Group Ltd. is a private company owned by the Permira Funds and News Corporation.

I tend to think the move to digital TV has negated some of their patent, where it may have had more merit with analog sources.

Tom Rogers, President and CEO of TiVo, said, "This was a break-out year for TiVo on a number of fronts. First, we increased total net subscriptions by 234,000 in the fourth quarter, the highest quarterly increase in close to six years, which led to an increase in overall net subscriptions of 11% year-over-year and we expect this growth to continue.
Second, we extended our leadership position in the advanced television space by substantially increasing the number of major domestic and international operators that TiVo is now deploying with, including Virgin Media, Charter, DIRECTV, ONO, Suddenlink, RCN, and Grande.

Third, we proved that our intellectual property has significant value, as consideration from two settlements has now totaled over $800 million to date. And finally, we translated this success into significant profit in the last fiscal year, highlighted by Adjusted EBITDA of $147 million and net income of $102 million.

I'm sensing some misdirected anger here.

Following the logic of the OP, we should now blame the judicial system for upholding all those rulings.

Such as this? Oh and the usual consumer subscribes to cable, satellite, etc and has no need for something else.

Tired of Paying for Cable? Channel Master Offers a New Subscription Free HDTV Solution

Intellectual property is the lifeblood of any technology business be it electronics, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, materials etc. Any company that does not protect its IP from piracy will find itself out of business.

If it wasn't for TiVo, the chinese would be flooding the US market with cheap DVRs and fighting each other to get them on walmarts shelf

100% of all TiVo technology is based on some other entities (persons) work.

RTV and Tivo essentially created this market, so it's no surprise that Tivo would attempt to protect it.

I might understand a few of these lawsuits, but they have gone off the deep end. It's seems obvious to me, they apparently have more income coming in from these suits than from selling the actual product which they seem to change every year.

Money Forever Without Doing Nothing

That's not big business. That's greedy individuals.

Tivo owns these patents and has a right to protect them