[mythtv-users] TiVo's Future May Hinge on Patent Case

[Brian Wood]

On Apr 5, 2006, at 1:14 PM, Steven Adeff wrote:

> On 4/5/06, Brian Wood <beww at beww.org> wrote:
>> On Apr 5, 2006, at 12:43 PM, Steven Adeff wrote:
>>> On 4/5/06, Wylie Swanson <wylie.swanson at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/zd/20060404/tc_zd/175015
>>> <snip>
>>>
>>> a simple example of how patents stifle innovation.
>>
>>
>> But the whole thing is ridiculous. Video was being captured and
>> stored on hard drives long before TiVo or EchoStar even existed.
>>
>> Technically the old Ampex hard-disk slo-mo machine, though analog,
>> would qualify, and using one for each camera at a sporting event,
>> which was commonly done in the 70's, would qualify as "recording one
>> channel while watching another".
>>
>> The only thing TiVo or Echostar "invented" was marketing, not
>> engineering.
>>
>> How many countries other than our own litigation-leading USA would
>> even permit such a case to get to court ??
>
> I believe the whole European Union software patent thing proves the EU
> would, but the EU is really a uSA Jr. (with a side of Fries), so I
> guess thats to be expected.
>

Is TiVo claiming a software patent infringement ? I thought it was  
standard patent infringement case. If they are claiming  a software  
patent a whole 'nother bag of worms opens up, as TiVo is already  
avoiding GPL problems by the skin of their teeth, and would be in  
violation of the proposed GPL-3 language, should the Linux kernel  
ever go to that (which it looks like it won't).