An obscure firm known as Muvox LLC has filed a lawsuit in opposition to BMG in the US for alleged patent infringement.
The lawsuit, which you’ll be able to learn right here, was filed in a Texas courtroom final month and references a patent titled ‘Music streaming, playlist creation and streaming structure‘, which describes “a way for choosing a tune” based mostly on different songs with comparable “moods”.
As first reported right here by patent litigation info useful resource RPX, the lawsuit targets “tune suggestion options” inside the BMG Synch service.
In keeping with a lawsuit filed in the identical Texas courtroom on August 21, the corporate suing BMG additionally seems to be suing know-how large IBM for alleged infringement of the identical patent.
The patent, which you’ll be able to learn right here, describes “a system and technique for making categorized music tracks accessible to end-user functions”.
In keeping with the patent, “The strategy of declare 1, additional comprise[es] checking the a number of moods of the tune in opposition to no less than one different temper identification approach for a degree of correlation between the a number of moods of the tune and the a number of moods of the plurality of the opposite songs”.
An attachment titled ‘Exhibit 2′ (Exhibit 1 being the patent itself) was filed with the lawsuit in opposition to BMG. In it, the plaintiff seems to level to BMG’s Synch service because the purported supply of alleged infringement of components detailed within the patent.
Inside the doc, the plaintiff, Muvox, describes BMG Synch as “a digital platform that enables purchasers to license music for synchronization functions”, including that “it gives a list of music from varied artists, songwriters, and composers, offering a variety of genres and customers can search inside this catalogue, hearken to tracks, and many others.”
The ‘Exhibit 2’ attachment refers to BMG’s Synch service as “the accused instrumentality”, which, it provides “discloses a way for choosing a tune (e.g., deciding on a specific tune for the person specified temper).”
The patent cited within the lawsuit appears to be assigned to an organization known as Apperture Investments, Llc. The applying for the patent was filed in January 2023 and granted in February this 12 months.
Apperture Investments, Llc at present has round 15 patents both pending or lively, starting from tech for “Streaming music categorization utilizing rhythm, texture and pitch” to “Music choice and group utilizing rhythm, texture and pitch”.
One of many inventors of the patent referred to within the lawsuit filed in opposition to BMG and IBM, Jacquelyn Fuzell-Casey, additionally seems to be listed because the inventor of a patent owned by Google for tech described in a submitting as a “list-based coupon system and strategies.”
Muvox LLC additionally accuses IBM of ripping off components of its patent that recommends music based mostly on the ‘temper’ of a tune by way of the IBM Watson AI platform, and extra particularly by way of the Watson Beat, a “cognitive cloud-based app developed by machine studying” all the way in which again in 2016.
Inside the Exhibit 2 attachment filed with the lawsuit in opposition to IBM, Muvox claims that the platform the place the alleged infringement is happening “is a cognitive cloud-based music program developed utilizing AI and machine studying that makes use of musical notes to research moods and reproduce music based mostly on the recognized temper”.
BMG isn’t the primary music firm to be sued for alleged patent infringement in recent times. Final 12 months, main report labels Warner Music Group and Common Music Group have been hit with infringement lawsuits over 4 patents associated to ‘encoding and distributing digital content material’.
As reported by Bloomberg Legislation on the time, the lawsuits have been filed by Texas-based Blue Spike LLC in opposition to WMG in a New York courtroom and in opposition to UMG in a California courtroom.Music Enterprise Worldwide
