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Zen vs IPOD
Apple's IPOD (MP3 player) has an excellent menuing system enabling users to navigate amoung a myriad of artists and albums. The only problem with it is that it was invented by Creative, maker of the Zen music player (the Zen micro really is cool).
Creative Technology said Tuesday it has been awarded a patent for a user interface found in its portable media players and in competing devices, such as Apple Computer's iPod.
The digital entertainment company said that on Aug. 9 it received U.S. Patent No. 6,928,433, described as "automatic hierarchical categorization of music by metadata." Creative applied for the patent--which it has dubbed the "Zen Patent," named for its Zen music player--on Jan. 5, 2001.
"We're not focused on a legal issue," Mike McHugh, president of Creative Labs said (with a smile). "We're focusing really on the celebration of getting this patent."
And what reason is there to celebrate? Legal issues ... A friendly licensing agreement with other companies, such as Apple, is bound to make Creative shareholders happy. Litigation, especially if it can be proven that Apple knowingly infringed (triple damages), seems like another possible outcome.
Posted by tim at August 30, 2005 11:07 PM
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