p2pnet.net News:- The phrase DRM - digital rights management - suggests there’s a way to ‘protect’ copyright product from being, well, copied.

Of course, that’s nonsense. Anything which can be seen or heard can be duplicated by ones means or another. End of story.

“Everyone knows that iTunes allows a user to play purchased music tracks to up to 5 computers, without repeated payment, under the condition that the computers are registered,” says a story on Philip H.K. Tse’s Hong Kong web page, Pat-rights.

“The computer registration involves a process of identity verification in which a user is required to key in into the computer the correct Apple ID and password he used to purchase the song,” the post, by Peter C.W. Chung, says.

“This is certainly a patentable technology. If iTunes does not patent it, there must be a very good reason for them not to do so - someone else has patented this.”

Philip H.K. Tse says he’s the “someone else” and accordingly, he’s suing Apple for 12% of its iTunes and iPod profits for using his “Internet/Remote User Identity Verification”, US Patent 6,665,797, DRM application without paying for it.

At the end of 2003, “Apple indicated in its communication to Pat-rights that Apple had no interested in licensing it [patent 6,665,797] and remain silence ever since then,” states Chung, quoting Tse as saying”

“We have kept a close watch on every development of iTunes. We believe this is willful infringement. We lose face. Apple shows no respect to us and our patent rights!”

The US Patent 6,665,797 is, “written in plain English, even a layman can read and understand it, “They are playing unfair to their customers, not us.” Tse further says in the post.

“According to US Law, any willful infringement found by a court can result in injunction as well as treble damages. If an injunction is granted, then Apple’s customer will not be able to enjoy their music tracks as free as they have been.”

The patent abstract says: “A central program comprising a EI sub-program for providing identity information of the rightful user thereof for accessing a network central computer to obtain service(s) or software product(s) or alike, in which a secure operation on an account of the rightful user for payment therefor involved; and a AS sub-program for using the existence of the EI sub-program in a computer as a precondition for authorising use of those software products obtained on that computer. The central program is for managing the use of the individual sub-programs therein so that the AS sub-program can be protected from being copied individually.”

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See:-

Pat-rights - Pat-rights demanded 12% from iTunes, February 28, 2005

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