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Microsoft Patents Process To "Unpirate" Music

Posted by Zonk on from the very-merry-unbirthday-to-you dept.

Unequivocal writes "A new Wired magazine blog entry shows that Microsoft has patented a technique for preventing and reversing music piracy at the hardware level. 'Microsoft and Apple are thinking along the same lines when it comes to enabling users to copy music between their wireless devices. Certain cellphones already allow you to [transfer music] via Bluetooth file transfer, but Microsoft's patented idea would take the concept further, by allowing users to trade MP3s that may have come from file sharing networks to one another, expiring the song on the recipient's device after three plays, unless the user pays Microsoft a fee in order to continue to listen to the track, with a percentage going to the person who provided the song. As the abstract puts it, "even [the] resale of pirated media content [can] benefit... the copyright holder."'"

9 of 241 comments (clear)

  1. Ob Bash Quote by HungWeiLo · · Score: 5, Funny

    NES lol
    NES I download something from Napster
    NES And the same guy I downloaded it from starts downloading it from me when I'm done
    NES I message him and say "What are you doing? I just got that from you"
    NES "getting my song back fucker"

    --
    There are a huge number of yeast infections in this county. Probably because we're downriver from the bread factory.
  2. No big deal by qweqwe321 · · Score: 3, Funny

    They already tried a more primitive version of this with the Zune, and we all know how well THAT one worked out.

  3. Re:Sounds good.... by glwtta · · Score: 3, Funny

    Yes! As a big fan of Microsoft's music, I can't wait to pay them for it.

    --
    sic transit gloria mundi
  4. Re:Soon we will be paying to hear our own recordin by sveard · · Score: 3, Funny

    Or maybe your voice resembles that of Michael Jackson?!

  5. Re:Zune by mrsteveman1 · · Score: 4, Funny

    "another Zune user's legal squirt onto you"

    no comment necessary :D

  6. Re:Sounds good.... by moxley · · Score: 2, Funny

    It's kind of off-topic, semantic, nitpicky, etc -

    And I agreed with your point -

    - but when pointing out what an idiot someone is, it really hurts your case to not be able to spell "you're."

  7. And in other news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    An AC patented a process by which Microsoft can suck his nutsack.

  8. Re:Never Willingly. by Heir+Of+The+Mess · · Score: 3, Funny

    This explains that: http://www.motleycrow.com/ImageHost/crunchy17.jpg

    --
    Australian running a company that does C# / C++ / Java / SQL / Python / Mathematica
  9. Re:Question is, why is this patentable? by totally+bogus+dude · · Score: 2, Funny

    Because it happens on a computer, duh!