Petteri Pyyny
20 Jun 2002 15:52
Name from the past, PlayMedia Systems, is here to haunt the MP3 community yet again. Company made its name well-known back in 1999, when it sued Nullsoft for using PlayMedia's code in their mega-popular MP3 player, WinAMP. This time, PlayMedia says that Napster can't be simply just sold to Bertelsmann, because it includes PlayMedia's technology.
Company filed documents to court on Tuesday, stating that PlayMedia created the MP3 playing technology used in original Napster client and also was partly responsible of the security features of still-under-development subscription service and its client. And according to PlayMedia, Napster's license doesn't allow Napster to sell its license to Bertelsmann.
So, to put it simply, company is trying to squeeze few bucks out of Big Boy, German media giant Bertelsmann.