Testimony continued today before a jury in Marshall's U. S. District Court. as attorneys for EchoStar
Communications Corp. began presentation of their case for the defense against TiVo's patent infringement lawsuit,
having called the company's vice president of engineering technology, Dave Kummer, to give evidence.Kummer said he was hired by the Dish Network provider back in late 1992 "to build a system that could compete effectively against cable companies."
EchoStar attorney Harold J. McElhinny argued that TiVo could not claim infringement of their patented hardware since "EchoStar had a non-infringing alternative available" before TiVo co-inventor Jim Barton was granted his patent.
The majority of testimony offered by Kummer centered on the development of these "non-infringing" devices, namely EchoStar's 7100 and 7200 television set-top boxes.
The debate continues over TiVo's claim to ownership of the technology, while EchoStar maintains their creation of a PVR device had progressed before Barton had submitted his patent, although TiVo attorney Morgan Chu argued in response "we agree they built their own boxes, but we disagree that they own their own technology."
The hearing continues.
