Apple, Google, Napster Face Patent Suit

NEW YORK, January 3: Apple Computer, Google and Napster are
being sued for patent infringement by Intertainer, a now defunct online video
download service, wire reports indicate.

The suit was filed Friday in a Texas court. It alleges that
the three companies violated Intertainer’s patent for online digital content
distribution; Apple operates the iTunes music, TV and film digital storefront,
Google has a video download platform and Napster allows subscribers to access a
range of music content. Intertainer is seeking unspecified damages and an order
to prevent the three companies from using the technology.

Intertainer, founded in 1996, was a pioneer in the video on
demand space, securing patents for technology that allowed consumers to order
and access film, television and music content from home and notching up a raft
of licensing deals with studios such as Universal Pictures, Warner Bros. and
MGM. In September 2002, the company filed an antitrust suit against the then
AOL Time Warner, Vivendi Universal and Sony and their Movielink venture, citing
a conspiracy to fix prices in the digital distribution of content. Intertainer
says that it was the behavior of the defendants that forced it to shutter its
operation in October 2002. An out of court settlement was reached in March 2006
with Sony, Time Warner and NBC Universal.