U.S. Supreme Court Spurns EchoStar Appeal

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied an appeal by EchoStar Communications Corp. against a judgment ordering it to pay nearly $74 million to TiVo Inc. for patent infringement. A federal jury in Marshall, Texas, found U.S. satellite broadcaster EchoStar guilty in April 2006 of infringing on patents held by TiVo on digital video recorders and ordered it to pay $73.9 million in damages and interest. EchoStar appealed the verdict, which was upheld by two appeals courts before reaching the U.S. Supreme Court. The Alviso, Calif.-based TiVo developed the first commercially available digital video recorder in a market that was quickly deluged with competitors. Founded in 1997, TiVo has had skyrocketing success with its service which allows viewers to skip over commercial breaks. EchoStar owns Dish Network. Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2008