E-Data Corporation (OTC Bulletin Board: EDTA) announced that it has commenced litigation and is seeking an injunction against Microsoft Deutschland GmbH, a subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation, Tiscali GmbH, a subsidiary of Tiscali S.p.A, and On Demand Distribution GmbH (OD2) in Germany (Court of Mannheim, Germany: 7 O 353/03) for infringing upon its European patent EP 0 195 098 B-1, also known as ’the Freeny patent.’ The OD2 platform enables Tiscali Music Club customers to download individual music tracks for a fee using Microsoft’s Windows Media Player and Digital Rights Management technology.
Bert Brodsky, chairman of E-Data Corporation stated, ’Microsoft, Tiscali, and On Demand Distribution are in blatant violation of our patents by jointly enabling consumers across Europe the ability to download music tracks. The Freeny patent covers the downloading and recording of information, such as music, from a computer onto a tangible object, such as CDs, DVDs and MP3 players. As a result, we are seeking an injunction to prevent further violation of our intellectual property.’
Mr. Brodsky added, ’Microsoft, Tiscali and OD2 are working to build a service in Europe that would parallel iTunes Music Store, a successful music downloading service developed by Apple in the United States. However, these companies have not done their homework on patent rights before launching the service in Europe. We are confident in the scope of our patents as demonstrated by our favourable rulings in the US. Moreover, we are encouraged by our recent settlement with Satellite Newspapers, which reinforces the validity of our patents in Europe.’
The company has engaged the services of Howrey Simon Arnold & White, MNP, an internationally renowned law firm, to initiate an aggressive new licensing and patent enforcement campaign in the 10 European Union countries where E- Data Corporation owns the rights to the Freeny patent. The company also has pending litigation against HMV Group (Patents County Court of London, England; PAT03089) and a prior suit against On Demand Distribution in the United Kingdom (Patents County Court of London, England; PAT03089).
In the United States, E-Data has secured more than 30 domestic licenses and has received a favourable decision by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on November 6, 2000, supporting the scope of the company’s patents.
