Medien Patent Verwaltung has brought forth a claim alleging that Warner Brothers Entertainment, Inc. stole anti-piracy software to be used in the distribution of films. Medien is a Swiss corporation that created a method of placing a specialized audio code inside the soundtrack of each film distributed. Since pirates cannot eliminate the soundtrack from the recording, the code is attached to every illegal copy made. Medien (or any other user of the technology) would then be able to find the code in the copy and track it to the theater where the film was originally distributed. According to the complaint, this technology would save the film industry almost six billion dollars a year in profits. Medien alleges that Warner Brothers liked the savings so much that they stole the technology.
Click here for the entire article: The American University Intellectual Property Brief, Mark Tratos, 24 june 2010
