Court Rules Apple isn't Infringing on Emblaze Streaming Media Patent

The jury in a Federal Court case has ruled Apple didn't infringe on a live streaming media patent owned by Emblaze. The company accused Apple of forcing developers to use QuickTime's streaming media tools, and that it held the patent on that technology.

Jury shoots down Emblaze's patent infringement claim against AppleJury shoots down Emblaze's patent infringement claim against Apple

Emblaze argued that Apple's QuickTime infringed on its streaming content patent, and that by pushing third party developers to rely on QuickTime, the company was essentially forcing them to infringe as well. Those third party developers produced big name apps such as WatchESPN, MLB at Bat, and more.

The lawsuit against Apple was filed in December 2009, and at the time Emblaze said it was planning on launching its own smartphone sometime in 2010. The company did release the Else smartphone, but it never took off.

Apple isn't the only company Emblaze has targeted for patent infringement. The company also hit Microsoft with a lawsuit in February 2010 accusing the company of infringement over the live streaming features in Windows.

The jury agreed with Apple's arguments and found the iPhone and iPad maker didn't infringe on Emblaze's patent, but stopped short of ruling it invalid.

So far, neither company has commented on the court's ruling.

[Thanks to Bloomberg for the heads up]