(4 June 2009 5:35 pm)

MUMBAI: A US Appeals Court yesterday stayed a Texas Court's order forcing set-top box maker EchoStar Corp and satellite pay TV provider Dish Network Corp to disable millions of digital video recorders that infringe on a patent held by TiVo Inc.

The Appeals Court temporarily halted execution of the judgment by US District Judge David Folsom and ordered TiVo to respond to the motion for a stay pending appeal by 10 June, the order said.

The move is the latest in a long-running Court battle that resulted in a jury verdict in TiVo's favour in 2006 followed by an unsuccessful appeal by sister companies Dish and EchoStar. The jury awarded TiVo about $74 million in damages plus interest for a total payment by EchoStar and Dish of $104 million.

The stay comes a day after Folsom imposed additional damages of $103 million plus interest against Dish and EchoStar for continuing to infringe on TiVo's patent for 'Time Warp' software that allows users to record one TV programme while watching another -- while it appealed.

In a statement, TiVo said it was "confident" the Appeals Court would again uphold Folsom "and not permit EchoStar to further delay this case once it has an opportunity to consider TiVo's response and EchoStar's motion on the stay."

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