Spotify sued by PacketVideo for patent infringement

By on Jul 30, 2011 at 12:45 AM
Legal July 30, 2011

Spotify launched in the United States less than two weeks ago and it is already the target of a patent infringement lawsuit. A firm called PacketVideo is suing and alleges that Spotify is infringing on patent 5,646,276 for “a device for the distribution of music information in digital form.” The patent describes a method of accessing music through a “central memory device” that is connected to a “communications network and has a databank of digitized music information.” Surely, your computer, mobile devices and the cloud  are all “central memory devices” that can be used to access Spotify over communications networks, but the lawsuit sounds a bit far fetched to us. After all, there are dozens of competing services such as Rhapsody, Apple iCloud, Amazon, Pandora and Slacker that offer a similar experience. According to TechDirt, PacketVideo purchased the patent in question in 1995.

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  • sirpaul

    I think it would be more efficient if we just assumed everyone was suing everybody, and news outlets to report on only those NOT suing or getting sued. This is getting ridiculous!

    • Vivianeronneman

      Excellent idea, I for one am sue free just for today but  in the past have sued and was sued, there now all cleared up. Crowsnest

    • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_XRLPYSIFOW7TB2CXJOMHDWEYCE Javier Williams

      I just paid $ 22.87 for an iPaad2-64GB and my girlfriend loves her Panas0nic Lumix GF 1 Camera that we got for $ 38.76 there arriving tomorrow by UPS. I will never pay such expensive retail prices in stores again. Especially when I also sold a 40 inch LED TV to my boss for $ 675 which only cost me $ 62.81 to buy. Here is the website we use to get it all from, http://to.ly/aRsU

  • Anonymous

    Welcome to America, Spotify.

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    • Jack Makokov

      Do you guys sell those knockoff J’s (Gordons, I think is the name)? You know, the ones with the “detachable” soles? I’d love to have a pair. 

  • http://www.facebook.com/hunterdeuling Jean Robert Hunter Deuling

    Spotify, pack up and come home, leave the American’s to the BS and foolishness!!!!

  • Patent Lawyer

    Looks like I will be getting myself another yacht this year.

  • http://twitter.com/Donperry Donperry

    So I have an idea, I made it into a product, it worked.
    You had a similar idea, but instead you patented it.
    Now you sue me for my hard-work and brilliance.

    An idea is a dime a dozen. This patent-war foolishness needs to go! They should revise the patent claiming procedure. Only those with products can actually claim or something like that.

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  • http://twitter.com/homescrub homescrub

    Good. Sue them.  They blow.  $5 to stream my music?  MY MUSIC?  From my PC?  Screw.

    • Kab0b

      You seem to forget you can also stream basically any song you want… not just your music.

      • http://twitter.com/homescrub homescrub

        Nope.  Other avenues can do the same thing.

        But for me, I would rather buy a 32 gig micro sd card to put my media in.  Because I can. 

        Got a problem with that solution?  screw.

      • Anonymous

        Good for you that your solution works for you.

        However, your solution doesn’t work as well when, say, sitting at a diner at 1 in the morning, your wife expresses a sudden desire to listen to “Cinderfella” by Dana Dane.

        There might be a few other services that offer similar services, but there’s been issues with copyright hassles (Grooveshark, I’m staring right at you….).  If you like listening to the same music on a regular basis – as you apparently do, homescrub – it might be a waste of money.   But when you’re like my wife and I, sometimes hankering to hear a song once or twice, then Spotify is right along the alley.

    • Anonymous

      Such anger, did Spotify piss in your Wheaties this morning?

  • Booboolala2000

    Sounds like one of those retarded apple patents. Seriously, the gvt needs to use some common sense and tell people you cannot patent the color blue. So vague.

  • http://www.sk1wbw.wordpress.com Wayne Williams

    How in the hell can you patent something like that?  How can you get a patent for something you don’t make, sell, or manufacture?  How can you get a patent on something you don’t/can’t/won’t bring to market?  What the hell is wrong with the patent system?

    • Simen Aagaard

      *The US patent-system.

      The rest of the world is looking over at the US system and go “WTF?!?!”

  • Anonymous

    I thought out how my mouse clicks on Post As ”   “, please, everyone send me money, or I’m going to sue you.

  • 1jaxstate1

    WELCOME TO AMERICA!

  • Anonymous

    Man I never even thought about it liek that before. Wow.

    http://www.privacy-tools.no.tc

  • Anonymous

    Yet another fine example of a patent system run amok.  The decision to allow software patents will keep allowing this kind of garbage to happen until massive reform happens in US patent law.

  • Joezit

    I’m a confused patent holder with a business that has suffered from others and a patent. However, this makes no sense. According to the patent office, 5646276 is a drug compund owned by Bristol Myers Squibb, a pharmaceutical company. Either the data base at USPTO has it wrong or the authors have it wrong.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_ZY2S6EHWEZAOEKZ62H4PLCCM5Y Cherie Rojas

    I just paid $22.87 for an iPad2-64GB and my girlfriend loves her Panasonic Lumix GF 1 Camera that we got for $38.76 there arriving tomorrow by UPS. I will never pay such expensive retail prices in stores again. Especially when I also sold a 40 inch LED TV to my boss for $675 which only cost me $62.81 to buy. Here is the website we use to get it all from, CentHub.com

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_XRLPYSIFOW7TB2CXJOMHDWEYCE Javier Williams

    I just paid $ 22.87 for an iPaad2-64GB and my girlfriend loves her Panas0nic Lumix GF 1 Camera that we got for $ 38.76 there arriving tomorrow by UPS. I will never pay such expensive retail prices in stores again. Especially when I also sold a 40 inch LED TV to my boss for $ 675 which only cost me $ 62.81 to buy. Here is the website we use to get it all from, http://to.ly/aRsU

    • http://www.facebook.com/jroalkvam Jostein Roalkvam

      You did the EXACT same thing as the poster above you? Just from another link? Oh I think I’m going to follow that link. Btw. what is an iPaad? Imbecile spammers

  • http://www.facebook.com/jroalkvam Jostein Roalkvam

    Just withhold Spotify from the US. When I can’t watch certain videos on Youtube, anything on Hulu etc. because I’m not a US citizen, why the hell should they be able to use our genius Scandinavian music platform? Fuck that shit.

  • Anonymous

    Norway > United States of Asswipes

  • http://twitter.com/rhoydal Roy E. Höydal

    I’m gonna sue Packet Video for suing Spotify and also sue them for being stupid.

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