12 replies to this topic

[ShadowFox]

SAN FRANCISCO - Raising another legal threat to the iPod music player, Creative Technology Ltd. said it has been awarded a U.S. patent for a song-navigation technology it claims is used on Apple Computer Inc.'s market-leading devices.

The Singapore-based digital audio company did not, however, say how it would attempt to enforce the patent. And some experts were skeptical that legal action could succeed at extracting cash from the maker of the world's most popular music players.

"Apple tried to claim invention, but this patent dispels that," said Craig McHugh, president of Creative Labs, a Milpitas-based subsidiary. "We are going to look at all the alternatives that the patent provides. We can look at legal remedies."

McHugh said the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted the patent Aug. 9 for a user interface it developed long before the first iPods went on sale in October 2001. The technology is used, by Creative, in the Creative Zen and Nomad Jukebox MP3 players.

"We plan to be very vigorous in the defense of our intellectual property," said McHugh.

Apple spokesman Steve Dowling declined to comment.

Creative's claims come less than a month after an iPod-related patent application made by Apple was rejected because archrival Microsoft Corp. had filed a similar application five months earlier. Some speculated Microsoft could demand a share of iPod sales.

Patent attorneys were skeptical, however, noting that patent rejections are common and that Apple can press its case in numerous other ways. Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple could appeal the rejection, or tweak its patent claim so it wouldn't overlap with Microsoft's or ask the patent office to determine which company came up with the technology first, the attorneys said.

It's too early in the process to determine who might prevail in the Microsoft case and the same is true with Creative's claims, said Randy Gard, an attorney with Carr & Ferrell LLP, a law firm that specializes in technology patents.

Claiming patent infringement "might be good in the press but it may not have relevance in the court," Gard said.

Gard wonders whether the controversies are a case of two competitors ganging up on Apple.

In July, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said the software giant would work with Creative and its other partners to produce better-designed MP3 players to counter the success of Apple's iPod.

Creative says it began shipping music players to the United States featuring the navigational technology in September 2000. That was more than a year before the October 2001 launch of iPod, according to McHugh.

Creative has struggled to match the success of the iPod, which was critically praised for its intuitive navigation.

Apple now owns 54 percent of the global MP3 player market while Creative has about 10 percent, industry analysts say.

Source: Yahoo!

[ShadowFox]

SINGAPORE (AFP) - Creative Technology has secured a US patent for a key interface used in portable MP3 players including arch rival Apple's iPod, the Singapore digital entertainment products maker said.

Local media said the US patent would give the Singaporean outfit a boost in its efforts to challenge Apple in the booming MP3 market, where it has been struggling to overtake the iPod, an icon of modern consumer technology.

Singapore's Today newspaper said the US patent may enable Creative to collect millions of dollars in royalties from Apple for the patented technology, but this could not be immediately confirmed.

In a statement, Creative chairman and chief executive Sim Wong Hoo said that "we developed a way for a user to efficiently and intuitively navigate and select tracks from a significant number of tracks stored on a player."

"Before this invention, there was no intuitive and efficient way to deal with the large number of tracks that could be stored on a high capacity player," he said.

The Singapore company applied for the Zen patent in January 2001 and received the nod from US authorities this month, while Apple's patent application, also for a user interface in an MP3 player, was filed in 2002.

It has been an uphill struggle for Creative in its attempt to dislodge Apple as the number one MP3 brand in the world, with the US firm accounting for more than half of all such players sold.

Creative went into the red for the first time in three years with a 31.9 million US dollar loss in the fourth quarter to June, compared with profits of 6.63 million dollars a year ago

Technology and branding analysts believe that despite sometimes superior features on its gadgets, Creative loses out to Apple in the "coolness" category because of the American brand's fashionable reputation.

Source: Yahoo!

[ShadowFox]

I don't know about you guys, but personally I don't like the iPods, you drop em once and they're basically trashed, as for being fasionable... PLEASE, that's a load of bullcrap. I'm sorry but the Creative Labs Zen looks a lot more up to date as well as fashionable, to me anyways, and a lot more durable.... despite the price. If I had th emoney to spend on one I'd trust good odl Creative Labs with my money, atlest then I'd know I would be getting what I am paying for!

[Neon]

I`ve seen bricks fit into pockets easier lol

My mp3 player is TINY compared to the ibrick...erm Ipod

[ShadowFox]

lol I prefer my iPAQ over anything though

[ACiD BuRN]

I don't have an mp3 player... But I don't care at all how stylish or how the thing looks (if were talking about serious matters, not some pink coloured doll shaped players LOL ), it's more important that how much it costs, and more important, saving money ... I don't have anything against iPod, except the price

[patman174]

I like the iPod, except for the price. The mp3 players that hold the amount of songs that i would need, are all expensive though.

[clarky3429]

i just flat out dont like iPods - WAY overpriced, and look like crap

[ShadowFox]

I'm with clarky... plus they are unreliable and not durable.

[Neon]

Wow some Apple Haters...i love it!

DOWN WITH APPLE DOWN WITH APPLE!

[ShadowFox]

hey you're the on who wanted to know if you should get an EMAC or a pc... Changing forces Karl? We might have to let you live a little longer

[clarky3429]

the ipod nano was on the news the other night with a website that was really angry at ipods screens cracking for no reason

[ShadowFox]

IPods suck anyways anyone that bought one should get their money back and decide to place their money else where!