Microsoft Patents Kazaa Playlists

from the perhaps-Microsoft-is-inducing-infringement dept

theodp writes "On Tuesday, the USPTO published Microsoft's newly granted patent for Processing Playlists which the software giant explains covers "smart playlists" (i.e., not static) such as "My Kazaa Music," "Songs I like on Sunday night," "Songs I like, that I've not heard of recent," and "Sucky music." " This goes well with their patent on music appreciation, though they may want to distance themselves from Kazaa these days after the latest ruling in the Australian case against them. How long until a greedy lawyer connects the two and suggests that Microsoft is now "inducing" copyright infringement by encouraging people to use Kazaa with this patent?
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  • identicon
    andy, 7 Sep 2005 @ 7:57am

    No Subject Given

    iTunes has Smart Playlists that do exactly what is described.

    Has anybody told Microsoft about this?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 7 Aug 2007 @ 10:02pm

    I would have done the same if I were them, its inevitable, and tose part of it now will survive. The infringment you speak of will nnot be so 20 years down the road, mark my words.

    link to this | view in chronology ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.