Apple, Google, Napster Face Media Suit

Defunct video-on-demand pioneer Intertainer has filed a patent infringement suit against Apple, Google, and Napster over the distribution of digital media.

Interntainer was a broadband movie company before there was broadband—heck, broadband video still hasn’t launched into anything approaching the mainstream market, but Intertainer was trying to build a digital video-on-demand business based on digital downloads as far back as 1996. Although the company gained early momentum, it shut down operations in 2002 and launched suits against the studios behind Movielink, claiming it got preferential pricing from studios.

Now, Intertainer is back in the new now, filing a patent infringement suit against Apple Computer, Google, and Napster, claiming the companies are violating a patent issued in 2005 covering distribution and management of digital media from varied content providers.

Intertainer has filed the suit in a federal district court in Texas which has been historically sympathetic to patent holders.

Analysts and industry watchers are divided on whether Intertainer’s suit represents a significant threat to online media businesses operated by Apple, Google, Napster, and others. The terms of the patent seem to cover the core of most digital distribution services, but the application’s relatively recent filing date (2001) may work against it, as some online music services and subscription services were already operational by that date.

The suit asks for unspecified damages and licensing fees.