“Contois Music Technology last week asked a Federal Court to stop the iPod maker from distributing its iTunes jukebox software and is seeking damages over an alleged patent violation by the iTunes software,” Kasper Jade and Prince McLean report for AppleInsider. “The suit, filed on June 13th in Vermont District Court, alleges that Apple’s iTunes software design infringes on Contois’ six-year old design patent (US Patent No. 5,864,868) entitled ‘Computer Control System and User Interface for Media Playing Devices.'”
Jade and McLean report, “The Essex Junction, Vt.-based Contois is seeking a preliminary and permanent injunction enjoining Apple from further distributing its iTunes software in its current form. The company also asked the Court for an unspecified amount of monetary damages resulting from Apple’s ‘copying and willful infringement’ of its design patent as well as reimbursement of legal fees associated with the lawsuit.”
Full article with more information and images of Contois’ Exhibit Comparing Both Software Application Interfaces here.
“[they] are [suing] on how [iTunes] organizes music.”
How else would music be organized? Certainly not by the color of the album art or the number of letters in the artist’s last name. You organize by name, genre, album name, etc. It’s logical. You can’t patent that. Brick and mortar music stores have used similar classifications forever. And if it’s the listing of names in column format, sorry, that’s a generic concept as well.
Besides, the original “intent” of the patent was for music playing devices, like player pianos or their digital equivalent (MIDI?). These are just a bunch of greedy leeches. They, and the sleazebag lawyers they rode in on, can rot for all I care. The Patent Office should get the blame for this too. Issuing patents for vaporware… idiots. Only issue patents for an existing prototype and you’ll avoid this nonsense.
I think this says it all…
“The first embodiment relates to the use of a computer system and user interface to control which music is to be played upon a player piano. Although one skilled in the art will know how a MIDI system works and how a computer controlled solenoid operated player piano operates, these two topics are provided for background purposes. A second embodiment of the invention relates to the use of a computer system and user interface for allowing a user to select which movie video will be played upon a computer controlled video media playing device or the like. One skilled in the art of computers and video control will understand how the system operates in view of the discussion of the player piano operation. “
oh, by the way, I just got the patent for LIFE. pay up.
The statute of limitations is 1 year or should be.
Check out this introduction article on Patent attorney:
http://www.articleworld.org/Patent_attorney