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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."'"

4 of 241 comments (clear)

  1. Zune by jonnythan · · Score: -1, Troll

    Didn't Microsoft implement this almost a year ago with the Zune?

    What's the news here?

    1. Re:Zune by jonnythan · · Score: 0, Troll

      Yes, I read the whole article. This is exactly what the Zune does.

      I guess the news is that it's patented...?

  2. blacks ftw by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    we have your women. soon we will have the white house.

    it's our time now.

    blacks ftfw.

  3. Re:How will they tell the difference? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    i play xbox with my brother sometimes... its very cool... my brother is 30 years old hes pretty smart... he has 45 iq its the same as heis shoe size.. pretu good considaring 100 is full.... nentendo is cool but wii is beter... i am masetr chief from halo... bcz when i played halo for the second time i knew what was going too happen befor eit happend... so im takeru... its pretty cooll... sonic is cool... i dont like tails though bcz hes sonics girlfrend... i want2 be sonics girlfrend.... sonic is so fast and handsome its increddibnle... sometimes... together... my mom and dad are brother and sister... its prety cool i gess... i herd its prety normal in america.... they love eachother like a father and daugher... theyr so cute together... together... sometimes... xbox... my brother is in wheel chair... but hes cool because hes smart... yea... the boy in the basements said he isnt smart and he say bad thing about my dad... but its no mater... he is chained up... in basement... together... xbox... yea... maybe... xbox is pretty cool bcz they its like games... together... sometimes... i hear screaming from basement... dosnt mater... the boy there is happey.... yea...