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Now Microsoft Is Sued For Music Downloading
from the patent-violation dept
Last month we wrote about how patent shop E-Data was suing HMV for offering a music download site. E-Data claims they have a patent on transferring content digitally to be transferred to a "material object", such as a CD. Now, E-Data has also sued Microsoft for their new music downloading service in Europe. This is, of course, another patent situation where the patent is being used by a company that did nothing with it. These types of patents are being used to slow down innovation, and not to encourage it. What's amusing, of course, is that the various entertainment companies who are going to be targeted by this patent are unlikely to realize how it demonstrates some of the problems with our current intellectual property system.
Reader Comments
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No Subject Given
To me, whether or not they actually did something with the patent doesn't seem to be the point here. I wonder how they could even be granted a patent for the idea of downloading a file and copying it to a CD.
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Re: No Subject Given
You don't get a patent for "downloading a file and copying it to a CD". You get a patent for "Method of conveying a digital transfer of multimedia information to a physical storage medium" or something with an equally confusing title, staple a check for $5000 to the top of the application and submit it.
Then you just sit back and wait for someone to create a business model around "downloading a file and copying it to a CD" and sue them.
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No Subject Given
Couldn't IE's (and any browser) temp files be considered a "Method of conveying a digital transfer of multimedia information to a physical storage medium". The temp files are stored on a hard drive, and isn't that a physical storage medium? Temp files are text and images so that could be considered multimedia.
Wonder if I can get a patent for "Method of conveying a digital transfer of information to a physical storage medium" (Note no multimedia) then I could sue every website owner, and web user in the world.
Charles W.
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