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Court asks Dish Network to pay $200 million to TiVo in patent suit
MUMBAI: Dish Network and EchoStar will have to cough out $200 million to TiVo Inc for violating an injunction on using a DVR technology that can pause or rewind live TV, according to a court decision. US District Court of Eastern District of Texas judge David Folsom ordered Dish and Echostar to pay $110 million in damages and $90 in sanctions to Tivo, plus attorney fees. He further added that Dish will be liable to more sanctions if it loses on an appeal of the case. Dish had violated the permanent injunction from a 2004 lawsuit, which TiVo had filed as Dish was distributing DVR functionality to subscribers that contained an emulation of its “Time Warp” feature. Dish at that time lost the patent infringement case, but while the case was on appeal, it designed modified software.
For the contempt suit, TiVo had demanded Dish to pay $1 billion for using the modified technology from April 2008 to July 2009. However, the court ruled this out.
Meanwhile, after the hearing, Dish said in a statement that they are pleased that the district court rejected Tivo‘s request to award a billion dollars in sanctions and that it found that any violation of the injunction was not willful. “While we disagree that any amount of sanctions was warranted, the decision confirms our belief that we designed around Tivo‘s patent in good faith. We believe that we ultimately will prevail on appeal,” Dish said.
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With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
