"The downgrade "reflects our view of the
surprisingly adverse, and swift jury verdict..."
Investor Reaction to DISH/TiVo Case
Given that the markets were closed Friday due to the Good Friday holiday, it was
difficult gauging investor reaction to the patent infringement case involving EchoStar
and TiVo.
Today could be a different matter, however, when the Street looks at the litigation
win for TiVo, which convinced a federal jury in Texas that the satellite TV company
infringed on its patented technology.
S&P wasted no time airing its opinion, downgrading EchoStar in a research note
released Friday. S&P's Tuna Amobi said the EchoStar downgrade "reflects our
view of the surprisingly adverse, and swift jury verdict on the DVR patent suit."
Amobi added, "While the $73 million award is unlikely to hurt EchoStar's long-term
finances, and a likely appeal could span years, we see possibly higher financial
exposure on the court's unqualified finding of willful patent infringement."
While the $73 million penalty is a big deal for some, others are eyeing TiVo's planned
request for a permanent injunction that could impact EchoStar's DVR service.
"EchoStar has to be more concerned about a possible injunction and ultimately being
forced into a licensing deal," said Ladenburg Thalmann analyst William Kidd.
"EchoStar is trying to avoid licensing TiVo's technology on an on-going basis through
a variety of processes, including an appeal, a separate suit of its own, as well as
through a re-examination at the U.S. patent office that EchoStar hopes could invalidate
TiVo's patents. These processes could take years to resolve.
"However, TiVo intends to seek an immediate injunction on EchoStar DVR sales, which
could force EchoStar into an immediate agreement, if the judge agrees to act before
EchoStar's appeal is decided. A licensing agreement would be an obvious but
manageable negative," Kidd added, saying he thinks a licensing fee could be largely
offset by incremental DVR fees.
www.SkyReport.com - used with permission
surprisingly adverse, and swift jury verdict..."
Investor Reaction to DISH/TiVo Case
Given that the markets were closed Friday due to the Good Friday holiday, it was
difficult gauging investor reaction to the patent infringement case involving EchoStar
and TiVo.
Today could be a different matter, however, when the Street looks at the litigation
win for TiVo, which convinced a federal jury in Texas that the satellite TV company
infringed on its patented technology.
S&P wasted no time airing its opinion, downgrading EchoStar in a research note
released Friday. S&P's Tuna Amobi said the EchoStar downgrade "reflects our
view of the surprisingly adverse, and swift jury verdict on the DVR patent suit."
Amobi added, "While the $73 million award is unlikely to hurt EchoStar's long-term
finances, and a likely appeal could span years, we see possibly higher financial
exposure on the court's unqualified finding of willful patent infringement."
While the $73 million penalty is a big deal for some, others are eyeing TiVo's planned
request for a permanent injunction that could impact EchoStar's DVR service.
"EchoStar has to be more concerned about a possible injunction and ultimately being
forced into a licensing deal," said Ladenburg Thalmann analyst William Kidd.
"EchoStar is trying to avoid licensing TiVo's technology on an on-going basis through
a variety of processes, including an appeal, a separate suit of its own, as well as
through a re-examination at the U.S. patent office that EchoStar hopes could invalidate
TiVo's patents. These processes could take years to resolve.
"However, TiVo intends to seek an immediate injunction on EchoStar DVR sales, which
could force EchoStar into an immediate agreement, if the judge agrees to act before
EchoStar's appeal is decided. A licensing agreement would be an obvious but
manageable negative," Kidd added, saying he thinks a licensing fee could be largely
offset by incremental DVR fees.
www.SkyReport.com - used with permission