[mythtv-users] Tivo suing everyone in sight over DVR patents

[Johnny]

> Yes, I was once told to just read the first few claims. The key bit of this
> is Claim 1, and MythTV does not infringe upon it in my opinion (IANAL). If
> it came down to it, what Myth does has prior art - such as the (expensive)
> systems used way before this patent for instant replays during live sports
> coverage. Early onces used tape and a mechanism to looping up a lot of tape
> to the recorder could keep recording while the playback machine was shuttled
> back and forth as required, I believe some used laser disk with a separate
> readback head though I stand to be corrected on that.

Just to clarify, to violate a patent you don't have to violate all the
claims, if you violate *any* of the claims you violate the patent.
Patent attorneys make their money by trying to make the claims as
broad as possible but narrow enough that it gets approved according to
the patent criteria. Also I can patent a narrow version of something
that is already in prior art. For example someone can patent the idea
a chair. Then I can go and patent that idea of a chair that reclines.
I can't make my recliner chair without licensing the chair patent, and
the chair patent owner can make a recliner without licensing my
patent. Even though there may be prior art on DVR technology they can
get a patent on a more narrowly defined version of that (e.g. by doing
so with their 'media switch'). Anyway you can see how it is easy to
get in long protracted arguments about exactly what the claim covers
and doesn't cover.

Also it is unfortunate but much of the technological nuances are lost
on judges and juries so their are a long history of poor decisions on
these matters. If any of don't like Microsoft, they don't anything on
RCA. Just look at RCA in the early 1900's. The stuff they did to the
Armstrong (FM radio inventor) and Farnsworth (TV inventor) is
incredible. They blatantly stole and violated patents and manipulated
the FCC to make sure people with patents they opposed couldn't
actually get licensed to use their technology. It is quite fascinating
to learn just how corrupt RCA was back then. The RCA CEO at the time
allegedly said, "RCA doesn't pay royalties, we collect them."