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Open Source Music Fingerprinter Gets Patent Nastygram

Posted by timothy on from the their-patent-gives-away-the-secret dept.

Nushio writes "The code wasn't even released, and yet Roy van Rijn, a Music & Free Software enthusiast received a C&D from Landmark Digital Services, owners of Shazam, a music service that allows you to find a song, by listening to a part of it. And if that wasn't enough, they want him to take down his blog post (Google Cache) explaining how he did it because it 'may be viewed internationally. As a result, [it] may contribute to someone infringing our patents in any part of the world.'" Update: 07/09 00:31 GMT by T :Story updated to reflect that Shazam is multiplatform, not Android-only, as implied by the original phrasing.

5 of 487 comments (clear)

  1. What's that song? by UndyingShadow · · Score: 5, Funny

    Is that a Barbra Streisand song I hear?

    1. Re:What's that song? by bit9 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Indeed. I've found that one of the best ways to discover cool new open source projects is to go to Slashdot and search for "C&D".

  2. Re:Shazam... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Because iPhones suck.

  3. They're actually being fairly reasonable by Rogerborg · · Score: 3, Funny

    I mean, on the spectrum of software patent insanity, they're being relatively restrained and civil. They seem genuinely to be trying to head off competition for an invention that they are implementing and selling - which is the point of patents - rather than acting like patent trolls and trying to gouge money for something that they never implemented.

    Of course, it sucks, software patents doubleplus bad, Fight The Man, counter sue them for a hundred beelyon Euros, Attica! Attica! Attica! and so on, but comparing a couple of polite "please don't make us do anything you'd regret" emails to Adobe's assraping of Dmitry Sklyarov is rather hyperbolic. And yes, I have a "Free Dmitry Sklyarov" t-shirt, thanks for asking.

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  4. Re:android hate by nitehawk214 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Commas, will be misplaced.

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    I'm a good cook. I'm a fantastic eater. - Steven Brust