Microsoft, Apple Both Targeted in Patent Lawsuit
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.

e.g. the company needs money, thus they try to take it in any means possible.
e.g. the company needs money, thus they try to take it in any means possible.
Anyone have a link?
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.
Now that would be messed up!
"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.
It's more likely to affect product prices, not taxes. The companies pay all the fees, damages, etc
Instead, I'd like to see a positive discussion - what is IP, when should it be awarded, and why or why not should it be that way? Of course, this "knee-jerk" response comment system is not the place to have such a debate, but the constant whining/crying "the legal system for IP is broken" is so old that it is really becoming cliche.