TiVo announced today that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C., has denied EchoStar Communications of its request for a rehearing en banc.

TiVo issued the following statement: "We are extremely pleased that the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit today denied EchoStar's petition for a rehearing en banc, upholding the Court's unanimous ruling in our favor on January 31, 2008, in EchoStar's appeal of the district court judgment of patent infringement, full award of damages and an order for the injunction to be reinstated.

"Today's ruling brings us closer to resolution of EchoStar's infringement and reconfirms the strength of TiVo's time warp patent, which is in addition to the other benefits TiVo has to offer. We look forward to full enforcement of our rights in the near term."

EchoStar sued TiVo in 2004 and requested that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) re-examine the patent TiVo holds on "time warp" technology, which allows digital video recorder (DVR) users to pause live TV. The function also allows viewers to watch one program while recording another.

In November, TiVo claimed victory in its battle with EchoStar after the PTO sided with the DVR pioneer (story here). And on Jan. 31, the Court of Appeals ruled that EchoStar had infringed on TiVo's patent for DVRs, and that EchoStar had to pay $74 million in damages. (story here).

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