Is a $200 Billion Suit Headed Microsoft and Apple’s Way?

Is a $200 Billion Suit Headed Microsoft and Apple’s Way?

All I can say, for fear of being sued, or should I say it, for fear of being sued for NOT saying it??? We have sunk to a new low…

With the rise of intellectual property (whether it be patents or content, like Pirates of the Caribbean, for example) has come a rise in the number of patent suits. Unfortunately, this has meant the emergence of companies like Acacia Technologies, which has used the IP laws to its advantage, acquiring patents and filing lawsuits against any number of industries, including porn providers.

The way a suit usually works, however, is that Company A sues Company B for “infringing” upon its technology, or using it illegally. On Friday, however, a startup sent a number of cease-and-desist letters to several tech bigwigs (Microsoft, Adobe, Real Networks and Apple) accusing them of not using their technology. This could be a first.

According to a press release, a company called Media Rights Technologies and BlueBeat.com, an Internet radio station that is owned by MRT, said that it has developed and tested the X1 SeCure Recording Control, a technology to prevent digital audio streams from being “ripped,” or copied.

What MRT claims, however, is this: “MRT asserts Apple, Microsoft, Real and Adobe have produced billions of these products without regard for the DMCA or the rights of American Intellectual Property owners, actively avoiding the use of MRT’s technologies. Failure to comply with this demand could result in a federal court injunction to any of the above named parties to cease production or sale of their products and/or the imposition of statutory damages of at least $200 to $2500 for each product distributed or sold.”

What this says to me is that the companies may be sued for not infringing upon MRT’s technology, a rather novel take.