Forecasting

ECE 400 Spring 2008

Professional Development Assignment #4

Intellectual Property Case Study

Due: 11:59 PM, Thursday, March 20, 2008

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Description:

This assignment is related to a wildly popular product from Apple, namely, iPod.

Although iPod is a commercially wildly successful product, it faced several legal

challenges in 2005. Advanced Audio Devices filed a lawsuit against Apple, claiming

that iPod infringed its U.S. Patent 6,587,403 on a "music jukebox." Creative Technology

also claimed that part of the iPod's music selection interface breached its U.S. Patent

6,928,433 on "Zen" player. Moreover, Apple's application for a patent on "rotational

user inputs" received a third "non-final rejection" (NFR), with the examiner citing an

earlier 2002 application on "playlist generation based on seed items" filed by John Platt,

a Microsoft Research scientist. You are being asked to review the relevant patents and

identify the similarities and differences among the intellectual property protected in the

patents held by Advanced Audio Devices, Creative Technology, and Apple.

Resources:

Relevant patents and patent applications can be found at www.freepatentsonline.com,

www.uspto.gov, and www.pat2pdf.org. Remember to cite your resources!

Assignment:

In an essay format using 12pt Times New Roman font and having a total length of no

more than three (3) pages, please address the following:

1. Review U.S. Patent 6,587,403 from Advanced Audio Devices and identify, with

justification,