Well, the (beleaguered) MP3 manufacturer Creative is suing Apple in US and international courts over violating a US patent for metadata-based categorization (read: the interface of virtually every MP3 player on the planet) that Creative got back in 2005.
Sounds legit on the surface, until you realize that the metadata system that Creative got the patent for in 2005 was used in players that shipped before Creative shipped its first Nomad Jukebox in 2000. Not only that, but the metadata system that Creative claims the rights to was also used in cell phones, the Windows 98/ME/2000, NeXTSTEP, and BeOS operating systems, and many other gadgets way before 2000.
All in all, keep in mind that Creative CEO Sim Wong Hoo wants to make his company (currently #3 in the US market with 6.2% market share compared to Apple's 68% market share and SanDisk's 17%) number one sooner rather than later, even if by legal force and shutting down his competition.
(Note: this post is NOT political... just tech-related.)
Sounds legit on the surface, until you realize that the metadata system that Creative got the patent for in 2005 was used in players that shipped before Creative shipped its first Nomad Jukebox in 2000. Not only that, but the metadata system that Creative claims the rights to was also used in cell phones, the Windows 98/ME/2000, NeXTSTEP, and BeOS operating systems, and many other gadgets way before 2000.
All in all, keep in mind that Creative CEO Sim Wong Hoo wants to make his company (currently #3 in the US market with 6.2% market share compared to Apple's 68% market share and SanDisk's 17%) number one sooner rather than later, even if by legal force and shutting down his competition.
(Note: this post is NOT political... just tech-related.)





