$10M Says Apple Can Use Burst Patents
$10M Says Apple Can Use Burst Patents
by , 10:45 AM EST, November 26th, 2007
Apple and Burst finally settled their two-year long patent infringement battle. Apple got a non-exclusive license for Burst's patent portfolio, and Burst got a check for US$10 million.
Burst originally filed a lawsuit against Apple claiming the company was infringing on its patents with technology used in the iPod, QuickTime, iTunes, and the iTunes Store. Earlier in November 14, of the 36 claims were thrown out leaving 22 claims for Burst to pursue in court sometime in 2008.
Burst's legal fees in the case, however, will eat into the settlement Apple is paying. About $5.4 million of the $10 million will be used to cover the company's legal costs.
Apple isn't the first company Burst has sued over patent infringement. The company previously went after Microsoft which ultimately led to a $60 million lump sum license settlement from the Redmond company.
Observer Comments
Well, Apple must have thought Burst owned legtimate patents. It approached Burst multiple times to license Burst's patents. However, Burst didn't like the price Apple was offering. So what did Apple do? It did what any big company in it's position does: just use the patented ideas anyway. It will worry about paying later.
Mon Nov 26, 2007 3:43 pm Subject: Market Share
QuoteAnonymous wrote:
Chicken feed.
Yes, Apple's settlement is chicken feed compared to the 60 million MicroSoft paid to Burst. Of course MicroSoft's market share is larger so it only makes sense that they pay more.
Seriously 10 million isn't a lot of money in a situation like this, especially considering the iPod market share. I wonder just how much of Burst's infringement claim was valid.
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