Microsoft, HP Seeking Kazaa-Related Patents

Legal Issues

from the here-come-the-big-boys dept

theodp writes “The RIAA has shown no mercy for 12 year-olds and grandparents who contribute to a culture that legitimizes Kazaa. Perhaps it’s time they try picking on someone their own size. Today, the USPTO published Microsoft’s patent applications for Processing, Repairing, and Providing Music Playlists, which discuss the use of P2P to enable individuals to share their content with others around the globe and include exemplary Kazaa Playlists to help illustrate their ‘inventive techniques.’ And just a few weeks earlier, the USPTO published Hewlett-Packard’s patent application for Increasing Peer Privacy, which discusses Kazaa in the context of providing encrypted anonymous paths between peers, including the use of fakes and decoys to provide an increased level of anonymity.”