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Tivo and SonicBlue Settle Dispute

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the corporations-playing-nice dept.

Shippy writes "According to this article at the Stereophile Guide to Home Theatre, Tivo and SonicBlue have decided to dismiss all patent-infringement claims 'without prejudice' and instead focus their energies on energizing the DVR market. 'We believe our energies are better spent expanding the market for DVRs rather than fighting each other,' the former adversaries said in a joint statement. The article also discusses their plans for marketing and also how they plan to respond to criticisms that the DVR market is doomed."

9 of 194 comments (clear)

  1. without prejudice by Alien54 · · Score: 4, Insightful
    "all patent-infringement claims 'without prejudice'"

    IANAL

    but if I read this right, this means that if they feel like suing each other over this in the future because they have a falling out, they are completely free to call in the lawyers and have at it.

    Sort of like two mafioso movie types, each with a shot gun at the throat of the other. Backing off might be a smart move.

    --
    "It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
  2. As a Replay owner... by aslagle · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I agree with this totally...there's more than enough market share out there for both SonicBlue and Tivo. We need to educate people about PVRs, and the functionality that the media is trying to remove from them...not spend money on lawsuits like this.

    1. Re:As a Replay owner... by brianosaurus · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Totally! I mean, what market only has one option? There's room for PLENTY of competitors. Look at the rest of the consumer electronics market: Sony, JVC, Panasonic, Mitsubishi, Toshiba... Competition is good.

      When I bought my ReplayTV, my friends were all telling me "You should have gotten a Tivo. Tivo will win." Neither will "win". They'll both do just fine for as long as they can. I happened to like the Replay user interface better, so I got it.

      In this case, since the whole DVR industry is under fire from the MPAA, and other like-minded nimrods, its a good idea for them to not fight with each other. I mean, what good will it do them to bankrupt the other on some patent if the whole industry gets shut down in the meantime.

      --
      blog
  3. PVR market isn't doomed... Tivo and SonicBlue are. by Shinzaburo · · Score: 4, Insightful

    These companies have cranked out some very innovative products, for which they deserve much kudos and high praise. But between competition from the gatekeepers (cable and satellite TV companies), Japanese consumer electronics companies, and do-it-yourself PC-based solutions, they don't have much ground to stand on. Selling out to DirecTV or AT&T Cable while they still can is probably their best and safest bet.

  4. Nigh-Impossible to Market by callott · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Everyone I know who owns a PVR (including me) says the same two things:

    -1) I love it and will never, ever give it up.
    -2) It's nearly impossible to explain why I feel this way to anyone who doesn't own a PVR themselves.

    IMO, #2 is the principal difficulty for SonicBlue and Tivo.

    -Cal

  5. interesting.... but.. by Lumpy · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The TIVO is still pretty much doomed.
    sonic blue at least let's me set the unit's clock, while the TIVO requires that I let them do it.

    until Tivo can be purchased and never allowed to dial home AND function properly as a Digital VCR (record at XX:XXpm for 1 hour call it foobar1) I and several others will never buy one.

    --
    Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
  6. Re:Won't be long until they merge by jmoriarty · · Score: 4, Insightful

    My personal thoughts are it's the monthly charge that keeps this market from going anywhere (it's why I won't buy).

    Honest question: Why? The subscription fee is for downloading the guide data only. Someone has to pay for the people, processing, systems, etc., to make that available. If it wasn't in a monthly subscription it would have to be factored into the purchase price of the boxes. This way seems to be a lot more accurate for the companies (Pay Per View), and more fair to the consumer (No $1,000 boxes to cover rapid changes in usage).

    Don't get me wrong, I'm a DirecTiVO owner and love it. I don't want to pay for anything I don't have to, but this seems a valid service that costs money to make available, so requires a payment to use.

  7. Re:Question on licensing of technology by victim · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This is exactly what I have. I have a Sony built DirecTV reciever with Tivo built in.

    The challenge for Tivo and Replay is to ensure that the TV and set top builders have to license their technology. It can't cost more than $1million to develop the code for a DVR. (Well it could, but it shouldn't.) If Tivo wants more than $1M/year return on their investment they have to legally prevent the TV builders from making and selling their own DVR software.

    If Tivo has well written patents they can use litigation, if they have shaky patents they can use the treat of litigation. If they have worthless patents they are out of luck. Maybe the reason to cancel the lawsuit is to avoid a legal precedent on which patents are valid? Maybe each company has amassed a body of prior art on the other's patents? Just guessing.

  8. TiVO doomed... rubbish by rcs1000 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    OK.

    Lets look at the last financial statements for TiVo inc. Quarter to July 31, 2002.

    Sales $23.9m, up about 6x. (Yep, c. 600%)
    Gross profit $16.3m

    Less R&D ($4.5m), Sales & Marketing ($5.6m & 3.4m), and General & Administrative ($1.1m).

    Operating loss for the quarter, $1.1m, against $34.5m a year ago.

    TiVo doomed? Do the math.

    --
    --- My dad's political betting