Fight over who owns MP3 gets messier and messier

It was big news last week when Microsoft got slapped with a massive $1.52 billion judgement for infringing on Lucent's patents related to MP3, but while Lucent may not be busting out the Cristal in celebration (the case is still in question), the issue of who owns the patent rights to MP3 isn't exactly cut-and-dried. Microsoft thought it was in the clear since the company had licensed the MP3 codec from Germany's Fraunhofer Institute (members of which are pictured above), which bills itself as "the birthplace of MP3", but as the New York Times writes today there are a bunch of companies which claim to have had at least something to do with creating the codec. And while the Fraunhofer Institute seems to get most of the credit, Thomson, Philips, and Bell Labs (which was part of AT&T, but is now part of Alcatel-Lucent) all played a part. Not to mention Texas MP3 Technologies, which came out of nowhere to sue Apple, Samsung, and SanDisk recently. The fundamental problem is that MP3 wasn't just dreamed up by a dude in a lab somewhere, it's a standard which builds on the work of earlier codecs and formats, so it's easy for a variety of different entities to legitimately lay claim to having some patents related to its creation. It's a messy situation that isn't going to get solved any time soon, especially given how much money's at stake, so maybe we should all just switch to Ogg Vorbis and save ourselves a lot of trouble?

[Via TechDirt]

[Tyler @ Mar 5th 2007 8:14PM]

I own MP3

[John Doe @ Mar 5th 2007 8:24PM]

No, I own MP3!

[tphil9 @ Mar 5th 2007 11:23PM]

Actually, I own MP3

[TNP @ Mar 5th 2007 9:41PM]

Duck Season!

[Matt @ Mar 5th 2007 8:29PM]

http://www.builderau.com.au/news/soa/Microsoft_scores_victory_in_Alcatel_Lucent_suit/0,339028227,339274036,00.htm

looks like MS won that?




http://apple-group.blogspot.com/

[Bluephoenix @ Mar 5th 2007 8:58PM]

the problem with switching to ogg is the fact that it can be targeted in a similar fashion, and it would render many pieces of expensive hardware obsolete overnight.

aka- not going to happen anytime soon.

[Bluephoenix @ Mar 5th 2007 9:04PM]

by targeted in a similar fashion, I mean it can be assailed by companies who claim open source violation of their patents and then use those cases to sue others.

[mike @ Mar 5th 2007 8:39PM]

well, check your about window in itunes, apple licensed it from thomson and Fraunhofer....so, they look like they are more in the clear than microsoft...

[Eric Pham @ Mar 5th 2007 8:41PM]

Seriously lets all switch to ogg vorbis!

[Sir Richard Pumpaloaf @ Mar 5th 2007 8:48PM]

ogg vorbis!!!!

what a fricken stupid name. Anywho, probably has tech in it that is patented.

[Jason @ Mar 5th 2007 8:53PM]

Yes you are probably right, an open source codec definitely has some "tech" in to that is patented....right.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vorbis

Cheers

[Kads Baker @ Mar 5th 2007 8:47PM]

Beards = 5. No beards = 3. Beards win MP3! I have a beard. Therefore I also own MP3. My beard wants money.

[Sir Richard Pumpaloaf @ Mar 5th 2007 8:58PM]

Like I said...

"Although Xiph.Org states it has conducted a patent search that supports its claims, outside parties (notably engineers working on rival formats) have expressed doubt that Vorbis is free of patented technology."

[ScOObyDoo @ Mar 5th 2007 9:00PM]

MP3 is such an important part of life nowadays that it should just be thrown into the public domain. Companies trying to scam billions out of manufacturers are downright nasty. Reminds me of when they went after money for GIF files at one point and look what happened there; the world switched to jpeg.

[Chris @ Mar 5th 2007 9:43PM]

there aren't exactly any hardware devices and chipsets dedicated to showing GIF, changing software is super easy.

[Galactican @ Mar 5th 2007 9:05PM]

No - I fathered MP3 AND Anna Nicole's baby.

I enjoy soft-boiled Oggs for breakfast.

Starbuck is a Cylon!

TTFN

[guilt+1 @ Mar 5th 2007 9:39PM]

Look, if you can't play sensibly with the patent. I'll take it away and none of you can have it and what's more I'll turn this car around and no one will get to go to Disneyland.

[AwayBBL @ Mar 5th 2007 10:22PM]

Is anyone else pissed at companies that sue just because they invent something?

Why the hell didn't Alcatel/Lucent/Bell Labs protect their interests by actually developing products or licensing the rights at the time of "the infringement".

I think our patent laws should be changed to force companies to either "use it or lose it". If they fail to use it after a period of time, or fail to properly promote it's use via licensing, then the patent should immediately be put into the public domain.

I vote that 2007 be the year of "death to the patent trolls". Courts should NOT entertain cases wherein the patent holder has not excersized the patent, or made the due diligence to protect it.

[Mike Hains @ Mar 6th 2007 7:59PM]

MP3, who uses that ? Why dont people use real formats like OGG Vorbis, and FLAC.

OGG Vorbis acheives compression by removing quality like MP3, and its open sourced.
FLAC acheives compression with no reduction in quality, and its also open source.

[Tyler @ Mar 5th 2007 11:00PM]

NOOOOOO!!
NOT STARBUCK
I believed in you.

[Alber1690 @ Mar 5th 2007 11:05PM]

Just have it go to Microsoft, I'm sure they would know what to do with it best. After all, WMA is only one of the most popular formats. Not that I believe MP3 should be like WMA, but they should have the experience to earn them credit to say that they have the patent over MP3.

[J3Rm @ Mar 5th 2007 11:24PM]

no I am the father of mp3, and anna nicole smiths baby!

www.jerm.net

[Andrew @ Jan 19th 2009 8:13PM]

You can't, like, OWN MP3, man.

[james @ Apr 30th 2007 2:30AM]

Al Gore invented MP3

[ToXic_WaSTe @ Mar 6th 2007 1:58PM]

OGG vorbis can also be targeted, but i believe i Mp4 couldn't, which is also far supperior, so we should all switch to that...

Oh yeah, actually I own MP3.

[teel @ Mar 6th 2007 6:36AM]

Considering what a mess MP3 has been for a long time (technically and legally), it's a miracle that it's still being used in commercial applications IMO. There are alternatives, why aren't the companies using them and maybe saving some trouble and money on the side?

[FrankTheCrank @ Mar 6th 2007 8:35AM]

Beards are all the rage!!!

[Ray-- @ Mar 6th 2007 10:29AM]

man that mp3 player in the picture is huge... those must have been a pain to take to the gym....

[James Smith @ Mar 6th 2007 1:22PM]

If consumers would start being leaders and not corporate followers, than we can switch to OGG, which is open and free!

[BeatZombiez @ Mar 6th 2007 11:23PM]

BeatZombiez mp3. ringtones

[nike @ Mar 8th 2007 2:43PM]

Apple must have had a hand in this...they seem lawsuit happy these days. Crybabies!

[James @ Mar 8th 2007 1:23PM]

That picture looks like it was taken in the late 70s.

[dude23 @ Mar 8th 2007 6:12PM]

As some have pointed out, mp3 is still the safest consumer audio compression technology, simply because it is so pervasive. It was developed and licensed as a technology to be used, and not as a cash cow, and that's why it only cost MS $16M to use outright, as opposed to Alcatel's troll award of $1.5Billion! Fraunhofer and the other companies that helped pushedthe standard forrward into application deserved to reap some reward from their efforts, and now the money grubbers have come out of the woodwork to try and glom a little cash - such as Alcatel, Texas mp3 et al. But if we switch to Ogg Vorbis, you can bet your ar** that someone will rise up and claim some sort of IP rights to some element inside that technology. Fight the patent trolls, and support the reasonable licensing of IP!! You are deluded if you think people will develop technolog yforever with no reward, so it's all about managing the rewards reasonably.