Tivo (TIVO) got its start as the original digital video recording device company. Consumer electronics hobbyists bought Tivos by the hundreds of thousands to put on top of their TVs to record shows to be watched later.
Tivo’s business suffered when the DVR function was adopted by cable and satellite-TV set-top boxes, and the originator of the technology languished, as is so often the case.
Tivo got a measure of revenge by enforcing patents on its devices and the company began to collect licensing fees from the large firms that used knock-offs of its boxes. EchoStar (SATS), the satellite TV firm, tried to create a “work around” to the Tivo technology as a way to save licensing costs. The plan did not work.
Today, a court found that EchoStar was still improperly using Tivo’s technology and awarded the company $103 million. That is not much money for the firm that created the DVR and got trampled in the land rush to market it to consumers. But, Tivo’s shares were up 38% after hours to $9.65.
Douglas A. McIntyre
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