In October, 2003, Long Island, New York-based E-Data Corp. filed a patent infringement suit against Microsoft and other companies over their on-demand music service. E-Data alleged that the companies had violated what they call “the Freeny patent.” That suit was settled in January. On Wednesday E-Data announced that it has reached a settlement with Apple — not named in the original suit — and has filed suit against 14 other companies based in the US.
E-Data Corp. said that it has reached “a worldwide agreement for past and future royalties” with Apple Computer Inc. for a license under European patent EP 0 195 098 B-1, “the Freeny patent.”
“The Freeny patent covers the downloading and recording of information, such as music, from a computer onto a tangible object, such as CDs, DVDs and MP3 players,” said E-Data in a statement.
The patent was first granted in the US in 1985 and was subsequently patented in 10 European countries. Its patent has expired in the US, but the company also announced Wednesday plans to pursue litigation against 14 companies in the US who it claims violated the Freeny patent prior to its expiration. Those companies include Cinemark USA, Inc., Regal Entertainment Group, the Thomson Corp., International Data Group, Inc., Amazon.com, Inc., Movietickets.com, Inc., Ticketmaster, L.L.C., Marcus Theaters Corp., Fandango, Inc., Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc., The New York Times Co., Hallmark Cards, Inc., American Greetings Corp. and NewsBank, Inc.
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