TiVo (TIVO)

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(From THE WALL STREET JOURNAL)
By Roger Cheng

NEW YORK-- Dish Network Corp. and Echostar Corp. scored a rare legal victory
after the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ruled that TiVo Inc.'s patent claims
over its "time-warp" digital video recorder technology were invalid.

The ruling comes after a second re-examination of the patents by the PTO.
Dish and Echostar applauded the ruling, and TiVo said it would follow up with
additional arguments.

The PTO's action doesn't stop a separate review of the patent-infringement
case, which has leaned in TiVo's favor and could still lead to the satellite
companies paying damages to the set-top box maker. But the PTO ruling could
have ramifications for TiVo's case against AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications
Inc. over their DVR services.

In 4 p.m. Nasdaq trading Tuesday, TiVo shares were down 45 cents to $7.70,
while Dish and EchoStar traded at $19.97 and $20.50, up five cents and 23
cents, respectively.

The companies have been battling for years over technology that allows
someone to pause, rewind and fast-forward through live television. A jury in
2006 found Dish and EchoStar liable for infringing TiVo's patent when they
began making their own set-top boxes. The companies are going through an en
banc review to establish the legal ramifications of the decision, but most on
Wall Street believe TiVo will emerge victorious.

TiVo next faces a similar patent case against AT&T and Verizon. Both offer
DVR services that TiVo claims infringes upon its technology.

---

Kevin Kingsbury contributed to this report.


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06-08-10 1904ET

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