“Defunct movie download service Intertainer Inc. filed a patent infringement suit in federal court against Apple Computer Inc., Google Inc., and Napster Inc.,” Sarah McBride reports for The Wall Street Journal.
According to the WSJ article, Apple and the others named have violated Intertainer’s patent “for its digital entertainment platform, which allows content owners like movie studios to manage how they distribute their titles and at what cost.” Intertainer seeks unspecified damages.
McBride reports, “Intertainer launched an early movie download service in the late 1990s, preceding later entrants like Movielink LLC and Apple’s iTunes movie store. But the service, stymied by low acceptance among consumers and difficulties with studio negotiations, never took off, and Intertainer shut down in 2002. It then sued the major studios for anticompetitive behavior and settled out of court last year.”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Adam W.” for the heads up.]
poor sports.
MDNMW: little as in “What a bunch of little babies”
Another day, another lawsuit against Apple. I guess Apple lawyers never get a day off. Sad state of affairs…
Ahh the wonderful world of SW patents meets the f_cked up US system of suing everyone, welcome to the insanity!
Another day, another example of why software patents should not be tolerated. Apple’s forced to file them for defensive purposes, but merely highlights what’s wrong with the system.
It’s not about protecting the inventors when it comes to software–it’s about making money for lawyers.
That’s one way to earn money, just sue everyone who has money!
I like loose fitting pants, think I’ll go have some yogurt.
Some must see Apple as a powerful force worth trying to topple.
Go Apple Go Go Go Go.
Oh yeah, the HD-DVD format has been cracked. Google it.
It would make sense if you sue and lose you pay all the legal and court fees for both sides.
The people have spoken. They no like you.
If you can’t beat em’….
Sue em’.
Sad.
We need tort reform in this country, but the Demofaggot party never wants such a thing.
Apple must be going to anounce more movies on iTunes next week from more studios.
The dems haven’t even taken control yet and you’re blaming them? Typical.
Its the Dems who blocked it consistently, back when Quale tried it… Washington is run by fn lawyers.
Kill all the lawyers!
Most people who cry for tort reform have no idea what they’re talking about, especially those who use juvenile taunts like “Demofaggot” or advocate mass homicide.
“juvenile taunts like “Demofaggot” or advocate mass homicide.”
this bit of hyperbole coming from someone who uses the real mature handle of “effwerd”
Here we go again.
News story, posters opinions of said news story, other posters replies, more posters opinions of others posters replies, etc., etc., etc.
How do I get off this train wreck?
^Time travel back to 1960
I’m only contributing this in the name of logic and rationality…
If, as Oops argues, the “Demofaggots” (presumably Mark Foley was an honorary member) blocked tort reform for many years in the legislature, why did the brave Republican-dominated legislature (RIP, 1994-2006) not use its time in power to bring such legislation forward, especially when it has also had control of the Executive since 2001.
Maybe (and I’m just spitballing here), the Republicans a) didn’t want tort reform either and b) maybe they were too busy accepting largesse from lobbyists like Abramoff to care. And, just as a third option, c) maybe they were too obsessed in passing grandstanding legislation that helped the agendas of their supporters, such as the Religious Right.
Now back to the real subject, surely – at an abstract level – what Intertainer have patented is little more than a shopping cart, and – again using rationality and logic – surely shopping carts existed back in the mid-90s and is therefore either “prior art” or an obvious extension of prior art.
Lawyers: parasitic producers of precisely nothing, the scourge of society.
Probably exactly what they said in Roman/Greek/Egyptian civillizations..!
This sounds like to me they were far too early to market with the movie store and that consumers were not ready for it.
There were no handheld movie devices out in the 1990s or any viable reason why people would download movies instead of just buying dvds.
Everyone had either diaup or very low spec adsl internet connections and video compresson technology was very poor.
These guys should have waited 5 years then their product would have taken off.
Shame really.
I think this is just sour grapes from a company that had a product at the time that no one wanted yet.
Apple shoudl counter sue anyway just to really piss em off.
this bit of hyperbole coming from someone who uses the real mature handle of “effwerd”
It’s not hyperbole. Or do you actually think “Demofaggot” is a rational critique of the Democratic Party?
Also, given your criticism of my handle I imagine you assume “effwerd” stands for “fuck”. That’s your issue and has nothing to do with the maturity of my handle, which is only about four years old and makes no such claim to any kind of nobility. Your criticism amounts to a Tu Quoque fallacy.