Apple Sued By Burst.Com Claiming Patent Infringement on iTunes, iPod and Quicktime Software

Burst.com has filed a countersuit against Apple Computer claiming that the iTunes software, the iPod and the Quicktime streaming software all infringe on patents held by Burst.com. Burst is asking for royalties as well as an injunction.

Burst has developed software that helps companies speed up (faster than real-time) the delivery of audio and video files over a network. The company was involved in a similar patent infringement dispute with Microsoft last year that ended with a $60 million settlement and a Microsoft license to the Burst technology.

A television program over a broadcast network is delivered in real-time, meaning an hour-long show is delivered over the course of an hour. According to Richard Lang, co-founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Burst, Burst holds patents that cover sending an hour-long video across a network in a few minutes, in addition to other technology involved in delivering that video or audio content.

via News.com