Apple, operators sued over Shazam music discovery app

Mobile music discovery solutions provider Shazam, along with partners including Apple, AT&T and Verizon Wireless, are named in a new patent lawsuit alleging the Shazam application infringes on under-the-radar firm Tune Hunter's music identification system. According to an eight-page complaint filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern Division of Texas, Tune Hunter contends nearly a dozen technology companies are contributing to the infringement of U.S. patent No. 6,941,275, filed by inventor Remi Swierczek in October 2000--the patent abstract outlines "a music identification/purchasing system, specifically to a method for marking the time and the name of the radio station in portable device such as a key holder, watch, cellular phone, beeper or the like which will allow the user to learn via Internet or regular telephone the name of the song, artist and/or music company by matching the stored data with broadcast archive. The system will allow for purchase of the full length of the identified music item or related music."

In addition to accusing Shazam's music discovery and identification service of violating the Tune Hunter patent, the suit adds its partners--also including Amazon.com, Napster, Motorola, Gracenote, LG Electronics and Pantech Wireless--benefit directly from Shazam's alleged infringement. Tune Hunter's complaint does not specify its issues with each individual defendant, but instead charges them broadly with contributing to the infringement or inducing the infringement of its patent "by making, using, selling and/or offering to sell, and/or causing others to use... music identification systems and/or devices that are covered by one or more claims." Tune Hunter is asking for unspecified damages and an injunction that would prevent "further infringement." Shazam, AT&T, Apple, and Gracenote each told CNet they had no comment on the lawsuit, while Samsung and Verizon said they had not yet heard about the court filing.

Shazam first introduced its ShazamiD song identification application in 2002, and while the firm now boasts partnerships with more than 75 carriers in 60 countries, its success is most closely tied to Apple's iPhone. In late September, Shazam announced that more than 1.5 million new users downloaded the application in the six weeks following its debut on Apple's App Store. At that time, Shazam boasted more than 20 million users worldwide--that number now totals more than 35 million.

For more on the Tune Hunter lawsuit:
- read this CNet article