You didn't really think the patent dispute between TiVo and Dish Network (formerly known as EchoStar) was over, did you? Well, apparently some lawyers at Dish Network didn't think so either, because they've filed a petition to have an appeals court hear the case over again.

Earlier this year, that federal appeals court upheld a lower court ruling that found EchoStar had violated several TiVo patents. But Dish is claiming that one of TiVo's witnesses in the case made inconsistent statements, and that the case should be reheard.

So that means the two companies could be headed back to court for the umpteenth time. While each side has undoubtedly spent a bundle on legal fees, nearly $90 million is at stake.

If you've been getting whiplash watching the legal battle between TiVo and EchoStar over PVR-related patents, you're not alone. The two companies have been duking it out for years now. Sometimes TiVo seems to be up while EchoStar is down, and sometimes the tables seem to flip.

The latest twist came today when the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a ruling that (mostly) favors TiVo. In a nutshell, a lower court had ruled that EchoStar was violating a series of hardware and software patents held by TiVo. The appelate court upheld that decision insofar as it relates to the software patents. But today's ruling reverses the decision regarding the hardware patents.

While that might seem like mixed news for EchoStar, the ruling upholds the damages issued by the district court, since the damages were not calculated claim by claim. If memory serves, those damages are about $88 million.

[via Zatz Not Funny]