DISH Wins Another Victory in Hopper Dispute with Fox

ENGLEWOOD: The United States Court of Appeals has denied Fox Broadcasting Company’s petitions to rehear the court’s July 2013 decision that also ruled in favor of DISH and its Hopper DVR.

The appeals court upheld a ruling from a lower court that denied Fox’s request to shut down the features of the Hopper DVR. In particular, Fox took issue with the features of the DVR that allows users to automatically record shows and skip ads while watching the recordings. Fox is charging copyright infringement and wanted the court to block the AutoHop ad-skipping and Prime Time Anywhere functions while the case is being decided. 

“With this decision, the Court continues to reject Fox’s efforts to deny our customers’ access to PrimeTime Anytime and AutoHop—key features of the Hopper Whole-Home HD DVR,” said R. Stanton Dodge, DISH’s executive VP and general counsel. “This is a victory for American consumers, and we are proud to have stood by their side in this important fight over the fundamental rights of consumer choice and control.”