Appeals Court Blocks Injunction on EchoStar

A federal appeals court temporarily blocked a trial judge’s order that EchoStar Communications Corp., parent of the Dish satellite-TV service, disable more than 3 million digital video recorders.

The appeals court blocked an injunction issued Thursday by a federal district judge in Texarkana, Ark. The injunction stemmed from a jury decision in April that EchoStar infringed Alviso, Calif.-based TiVo Inc.’s patent for “time-warp” technology: the ability to record a live TV program while playing another.

The federal court judge also increased the damages EchoStar should pay to $89.6 million from the jury’s verdict of $74 million.