Apple Controls Essential iTunes Patent?
Contois sought damages and an injunction against Apple for the infringement of the existing patent. The last word of the suit came in September, when after a 15-hour negotiating session, a settlement was reached but remained confidential:
"We're glad to get back to teaching music and selling musical instruments," said Dan Contois, a brother of David Contois, who works in the 35-year-old family-owned business. "The terms are confidential. We can't discuss them."
Interestingly, the patent lawyer involved in the case issued a press release today commenting about the implications of this patent and suggests that Apple has control of it.
The patent covers the system and methods for allowing users download media from a remote database and playing on a a local device -- essentially the methods for purchasing songs online. According to Starkweather:
"I believe that, with this patent in hand, Apple will eventually be after every phone company, film maker, computer maker and video producer to pay royalties on every download of not just music but also movies and videos.
Top Rated Comments
(View all)
details still arn't clear. I would assume based on the settlement, Apple would have full rights to use it... but I'd be surprised if they signed over the patent to Apple which is what this quote essentially suggests.
What's the incentive for that?
arn
I find the press release a bit odd...
details still arn't clear. I would assume based on the settlement, Apple would have full rights to use it... but I'd be surprised if they signed over the patent to Apple which is what this quote essentially suggests.
What's the incentive for that?
arn
Maybe a lot of $ and I wonder if the patent lawyer got some of the $ too since it seems it was his brains that put this all together in the first place rather than the actual invention.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/061130/lath054.html?.v=80
I don't like this one little bit, even if it ends up being good for Apple.
Better Apple has this in hand than MS! Can you imagine?:eek:
Either way, I'd like to see Apple stay away from using its lawyers for once. However, maybe they can use the threat of a lawsuit as leverage to get the cell carriers to play along with the iPhone...
I find the press release a bit odd...
details still arn't clear. I would assume based on the settlement, Apple would have full rights to use it... but I'd be surprised if they signed over the patent to Apple which is what this quote essentially suggests.
What's the incentive for that?
arn
I think the incentive is that the Brothers got huge bucks easily without huge lawyer expenses and in return Apple who we know already knows how to sue can use their clout to get financial returns based on the patent. No small music store is going to have the resources to get the financial potential out of a patent such as this.
I think this is great news- (mostly cause we ALL KNOW what MS would have done had they received this patent!) now whether apple decides to do major things with it or just keep it to themselves has yet to be seen. I wonder if they will just hold onto it and if they start losing ground might then decide to do something about it. time will tell.
[ Read All Comments ]
Analytics firm Chitika today released a report showing that by its metrics iOS has now surpassed OS X in overall web traffic share in the United States. Chitika's methodology involves an analysis...
One of the most frequent reasons for an iPhone to go on a trip to the Apple Store's Genius Bar is because of water damage. Typically, a water damaged iPhone can be replaced for a flat $199...
TheVerge's Joshua Topolsky summarizes the iPad 3 casing findings reported earlier today, but also adds his own sources regarding some details of the iPad 3.
Image from RepairLabs
As...
Last July, Apple discontinued the white MacBook from its consumer lineup, pushing consumers toward the company's popular MacBook Air line or the 13-inch MacBook Pro. The company didn't kill...
Popular iPhone Twitter client Tweetbot has finally arrived on the iPad, with a user interface instantly familiar to any current Tweetbot user. Designed for the Twitter power-user, Tweetbot packs a...
