Microsoft, Apple Both Targeted in Patent Lawsuit

News
By Jane McEntegart
published

An Israeli company is suing both Microsoft and Apple for patent infringement.

Reuters reports that Israeli technology group, Emblaze, have accused Microsoft and Apple of infringing its U.S. patent for media streaming technology.

On Wednesday, Emblaze, which owns Magic Software and Matrix IT, announced that Microsoft's IIS Smooth Streaming system and Apple's HTTP Live Streaming Application infringed upon one of its patents. Emblaze said it notified Apple and Microsoft; the two company's have until March 15 to respond.

Unlike a lot of smaller companies crying patent infringement and demanding boat-loads of money in damages. Emblaze is taking the more subtle method of offering to license the software to the two companies.

"While we are happy to license our technology to third parties, we will vigorously defend our rights and our competitive position," Emblaze Chairman Naftali Shani told Reuters.

Microsoft's Smooth Streaming is used in Silverlight while Apple's Live Streaming application is present on OSX, the iPhone and the iPod touch.

Read more here.

Jane McEntegart
25 Comments Comment from the forums
  • daggs
    most important, one of their ex-ceo and founder is in jail pending trail because he refuses to hand over the remaining shares to the people (shady ones I might add) that he owns money to...
    e.g. the company needs money, thus they try to take it in any means possible.
    Reply
  • jhansonxi
    Yet another skirmish in the never-ending software patent war. I predict that in the future, software engineering will be in the domain of the legal department instead of the math/computer science department.
    Reply
  • zak_mckraken
    Let me see, they patented : "A mean to stream audio and video content through the internet" and now they're ready to reap the money others made from their "technology".
    Reply
  • JohnnyLucky
    I clicked on the link to the Reuters article. Very little information available. This is not the first patent infringement claim related to video streaming. The first one I remember involved Acacia. That would have been 6 or 7 years ago. I don't know the final outcome of that one.
    Reply
  • tenor77
    I'd like to see the actual patent before declaring Troll status.
    Anyone have a link?
    Reply
  • m-manla
    Why is everyone in a suing mood lately. I'm actually sick of these smaller companies crying. Everyone doesn't copy all of your technology. Just make better products instead of trying to sue someone that didn't do anything.
    Reply
  • restatement3dofted
    m-manlaWhy is everyone in a suing mood lately. I'm actually sick of these smaller companies crying. Everyone doesn't copy all of your technology. Just make better products instead of trying to sue someone that didn't do anything.
    Because intellectual property is usually not permanent - you can't just register your trademark, or apply for a patent, and then forget that it exists. In order to maintain your rights, you are legally required to defend them. That's why Apple sued a company a couple of years ago for using an apple symbol that bore almost no resemblance to the Apple logo for trademark infringement. If companies don't take these steps to defend their IP rights - including the use of civil suits - they run a very real risk of losing them.

    I agree that a lot of these small companies seem like they're just hoping to get a big payout, but that isn't always the case.
    Reply
  • I can just see it now, we meet up with an alien race with technology hundreds of years in advance of ours if not thousands, then no soon do we sign a treaty, than a bunch of money grubbing aliens are suing everyone on Earth for infringing on their intellectual Property. Cause it stands to reason that they would have already developed everything we have, but years before we ever dreamed of doing so.

    Now that would be messed up!
    Reply
  • cekasone
    can we at least go 1 week without another patent infringement lawsuit.
    Reply
  • ikefu
    I think the bigger question is why is the patent office handing out patents for vague generalities like

    "A thing that you touch with your body that does stuff in response"

    If you grant someone a patent that describes every input device ever made or every method of data transmission in use on earth, etc. than what else would you expect but all hell to break loose.
    Reply