“New York company E-Data said on Tuesday that it has settled a patent infringement suit filed against Microsoft and others, based on music download services in Europe,” John Borland reports for CNET. “Last October, the small company sued a European division of Microsoft, along with the HMV Group, Internet service provider Tiscali and digital music company On Demand Distribution (OD2), charging them with violation of a patent that covers the downloading of information onto a tangible object such as a CD. Music download services operated by the four companies allowed consumers to burn downloaded music to a CD. The settlement terms include past and future rights to use the patent anywhere in the world, E-Datasaid in a statement. Financial terms were not disclosed.”
Borland reports, “E-Data is characterizing the suit’s settlement as an explicit shot across the bow of other download services–Brodsky specifically cites Apple Computer’s iTunes–that are planning to enter the European market. ‘We are currently in talks with a number of prominent companies in Europe infringing upon our intellectual property, and may seek injunctions against these companies if necessary,’ Brodsky said.”
Full article here.
charging them with violation of a patent that covers the downloading of information onto a tangible object such as a CD.
…Wait…they have a patent on downloading data for burning onto a CD…
Isn’t this kind of like saying you copyrighted Sunrises? WTF?
Umm, is there any to download information WITHOUT downloading it onto a tangible object? Hell, RAM chips are tangible objects. Certainly the hard drive is a tangible object. This story is more a commentary on the asinine quality of modern IP law than anything else.
huh? this does not make one bit of sense – how could someone patent that? There are things other than music that get’s transferred via the net and get’s burnt to a CD or HD… can someone pls explain what the suit in plain-english?
To be fair, this isn’t exactly as it sounds like. Read the full article and follow the link to the original settlement article.
The nearly 20-year-old patent owned by E-Data is, and I quote:
The patent in question was granted in 1985
and covers the transmission of information
to a remote point-of-sale location, where
information is then transferred to a
material object. Courts in the United
States have held that this does not include
saving information such as a song onto a
computer’s hard drive, but that selling the
information on a physical media such as a
disc at an in-store kiosk could be covered.
So its not simply “downloading and burning to disk.” A point-of-sale transaction is required, and the purcase of a song over the Internet treats your computer as a “remote point-of-sale”, and then the burning of the purchased to music is what brings in the second condition.
ok, I hereby patent the use of the word phuck! what assanine court actuallly approved this broad patent. It makes no sense whatsoever!!
“So its not simply “downloading and burning to disk.” A point-of-sale transaction is required, and the purcase of a song over the Internet treats your computer as a “remote point-of-sale”, and then the burning of the purchased to music is what brings in the second condition.”
Thanks Gino, but what about thousands if not millions of downloadable softwares / sharewars (eg. Stuffit Deluxe, QT Pro just a few off the top of my head) – what do you do after you have paid for them and AFTER you have downloaded them from the download page?? keep them as long as your HD survive? is backing up okay? if so, isn’t it the samething with backing up the turns you bought from iTMS on iPod or CD/DVD?
This patent is much-flawed in the 21st century I’m afraid
sorry, not “turns” but “tunes” ;o)
I own the number Zero.
All of you… pay up.
Those who can do, those who can’t make up shit and sue.
eaxit, that word is mine! i patented it last week.
Maybe all companies involved in data transmission (software, music, database, etc.) for sale should pool their resources and get that stupid patent nullified.
Intellectual property, isn’t that the same as ideas? You can’t patent or copyright ideas, only the physical manifestations of such. Really, someone should take this on.
Is the patent as a concept really serving it’s original purpose?
I’m maybe skitsofrenic, but I am also Jesus.
I own everything, but you don’t have to pay anything.
I have just patented idioticy. I am richest man in the universe. Billion times richer than Gates.
indeed the patent is crazy: a French colleague here told me that in practice you could get a fine and have you burned music CDs confiscated (no matter whether it is your copy of a CD you own, you bought music online, sw you paid for d/l only, etc.).
Carry them in your car is apparently risky: if the cop is a jerkily strict or does not like you s/he has means to prove it to you!
PS
Cannot verify the accuracy
PPS
I wonder how iTMS could ever be released in the old Europe. If true, the continent got so *old* to be retarded.
I own the number Zero.
All of you… pay up. – theloniusMac
Bill Gates beat you to it read report in link.
The Onion | Microsoft Patents Ones, Zeroes
http://www.theonion.com/onion3311/microsoftpatents.html
A good read.
The Onion | Microsoft Patents Ones, Zeroes
…And promptly renamed them, All and Nothing.
Actually Europe has discovered the way how to be young again. It is European Union. European Union fixes these hicups. It is wonderful thing. Though it takes time. European Union is going to the right direction compared to USA. Maybe I should visit my friends in US before it is too late and all the Americans are locked in to jail.
Cops in France aren’t mean compared to US. France is not a police state compared to US. Not even close. I mean it really is so far from close.
E-Data want a piece of the action – pure extortion.
Yes, iTunes will work well in Europe, but you won’t be able to purchase a song for the equivalent of 99 cents.
So, how is it that the iPod is so popular overseas? Good grief, Apple may be taken to task for inititating a great international criminal conspiracy.
To: one guy from Finland. I am so glad to hear that the European Union has made the French police force a kinder and gentler expression of government intrusion. Sieg Heil, lackey.
OH NOOOOOO!!!!
Here we go again.
Europe vs US, Old world vs New World.
Lets see in the US you can own a gun because it is your constitutional right, oh and if you kids happen to shoot eachother, well tough shit. Thats part of living in a frontier country where indians can descend upon you and scalp you in the middle of the night.
Oh and in Europe you have the nice french people who should be sawed of from the planet and sent into another dimension, would make them much happier not to have to bother interacting with the rest of the world. Communication & Understanding. Ptah!
Or you can get your underwear taxed off.
Yes US vs Europe, theres an Argument that will be settled here. You are so close, just 2-3 insults away from ending it. Well done guys.
(European living in the US – I happen to know that both place can royally suck)
It sounds like the stuff has to be put onto CD at the point of sale BEFORE it’s handed to you. That would exclude iTMS unless someone set up an iTMS booth in a store and charged people for using it and burning their choices to CD.
If the point of sale is at the server end that handles the transaction, then they’re just sending files. They’re not doing the burning for you. So no problem. Fuss about nothing etc.
Rasmus, have you ever considered Australia?
i own the patent on the word “moo.”
moo.
Ahh, but I patent “heehee”
Donnie, don’t you owe me a million or so?
heehee