Internet convergence player, SONICblue Tuesday staved off a copyright infringement battle against the major networks over some of its digital video recorders.

The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company says CBS, NBC, Viacom and Disney have dropped their lawsuit that challenged the company's Dual Deck VCR.

The move follows the networks' decision to sue SONICblue only four weeks ago claiming that SONICblue's ReplayTV 4000 series of digital video recorders and its Go Video DDV2120 Dual-Deck VCR.

Both units give consumers the choice of whether to watch shows they have recorded with or without commercials.

"We're not enabling consumers to do anything they can't do now," says says SONICblue CEO and chairman Ken Potashner. "We've just figured out a more convenient, easier way for consumers to control what they watch and when they watch it. The courts have concluded that home recording is a personal, fair use right that consumers may enjoy."

According to documents filed in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles this week, the lawyers representing the networks, Viacom and Disney filed an Amended Complaint against SONICblue that withdrew all claims. None of the lawyers contacted would say exactly why the networks decided to back out of the suit. Potashner says he has his theories.

"Obviously, the networks concluded their legal argument against our Dual Deck VCR was not strong enough to move forward," says Potashner. "We assume the networks foresaw an adverse ruling."

Potashner says SONICblue is currently shipping the Go Video Dual-Deck VCR series and has announced plans to begin shipping its ReplayTV 4000 this month. The networks originally sought to halt shipment of both products.

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SONICblue has three principal business units, Rio (digital audio players), frontpath (Internet appliances for the home and business) and Access PDAs.

The company is also involved in the interactive television iTV space with the sales of DVR devices equipped with home networking capabilities under the ReplayTV brand, which it acquired last year.