[mythtv-users] Patents again

[Joseph A. Caputo]

On Wednesday 13 April 2005 12:08, Brian May wrote:
> Joseph A. Caputo wrote:
> > On Saturday 09 April 2005 13:12, Colin Smillie wrote:
> >
> >>On Apr 8, 2005 3:13 PM, Robert Johnston <anaerin at gmail.com> wrote:
> >>
> >>>Patent No. 6,674,960 (The one in question, which relates to
> >
> > recording
> >
> >>>to a hard-drive) was filed in 2002, that's 10 years after Hauppauge
> >>>make a system for doing so. Therefore Patent No. 6,674,960 is moot
> >>>under the terms of "Prior Art", if I recall correctly.
> >>
> >>Not quite a mute point, the patent would still need to be over 
> >>turned. 
> >> Last I heard the average cost to over turn a patent was somewhere
> >>around $2M in legal fees, in most cases not replayable. It alot of
> >>smaller companies will be forced to pay a settlement rather than
> >>fighting.
> >
> >
> > ...but there are some big players now in the DVR market.  It might 
> > be 
> > worth it for a big player like Comcast to get the patent overturned.
> 
> Like Microsoft and their Media Center?  (i don't think Forgent is part
> of MS, but I could be wrong..)

Right; but somehow, I get the feeling that MS would be more likely to 
license the bogus patent than to try and overturn it, but that's just 
my gut feeling.

-JAC