Firm seeks piece of Apple pie via iPod claim

TalkBack 7 of 65:

Next »

« Previous

• Thread View
• Flat View

More informative article

The Register has a better article outlining the details of these two lawsuits:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/03/07/apple_itunes_patents/

On the "musical jukebox suit":
st up, Lake Forest, Illinois-based Advanced Audio Devices (AAD) alleges its patent, number 6,587,403, for a "music jukebox", filed in August 2000 but granted in July 2003, covers the kind of thing Apple has brought to market as the iPod.


According to the patent's abstract, AAD's concept covers a "music jukebox which is configured for storing a music library". The device includes a "housing, audio input structure... for receiving audio signals, and a data storage structure... for storing audio signals".

The key words here are "audio signals" - do the iPod's digital audio files count as received and/or stored signals? The iPod shipped in November 2001, but it was by no means the first device to store digital music. Diamond Multimedia's Rio - not the first, but certainly the best-known MP3 hardware pioneer - launched in 1998, long before the AAD patent. It too could be said to store a music library, albeit a small one.

On the DRM scheme:
Pat-rights makes the assumption that since Apple didn't patent such a technique, it can only be because someone else has. It claims to be that someone else, though it's entirely possible Apple has already licensed the technology from a third-party. Patent duplication is not unknown, after all.

Pat-rights filed for its patent in July 1998 and had it granted in December 2003. A year later, it approached Apple, it claims, but was apparently sent away by Apple's legal team with a flea in its ear.

Apple presumably - it hasn't commented on the case, and wouldn't tell us if it had - believes Pat-rights' patent covers the delivery of software programs, not digital audio content. At this stage, the two sides are in talks, but if an agreement isn't reached by 21 March, Pat-rights may sue.

Posted by: tic swayback   Posted on: 03/07/05 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

Alert moderator to an offensive message

Subscribe to this discussion via Email or RSS

SponsoredWhite Papers, Webcasts, and Downloads

• Wireless Lab Delivers Technology and a Better Education Dell Steve Spangler, assistant principal of Middlesboro Middle School in ... Download Now
• The True Costs of Virtual Server Solutions VMware In an economic environment that is repeatedly heralding the message "do ... Download Now
• The Impact of Virtualization Software on Operating Environments VMware Today's use of virtualization technology allows IT professionals to ... Download Now