Google targeted over video streaming patent
Search engine Google and its subsidiary YouTube are on the receiving end of a patent infringement lawsuit in Germany.
The claim made by technology company Max Sound Corporation alleges that Google infringed its EU patent 2,026,277, which covers video streaming services including the VP8 video compressing format.
Max Sound alleges that the patent is infringed by YouTube, which operates the VP8 format along with the H.264 video compressing format.
The claim also alleges that devices that use the Android operating system are infringing the patent. At the centre of the dispute are the Nexus 5 and Nexus 6 phones as well as tablet the Nexus 9 Chromebook, all of which operate the VP8 format.
The lawsuit was filed at the District Court of Mannheim in Germany. It is expected to last 12 months.
Google did not respond immediately to a request for a comment.
Bernhard Arnold, partner at law firm Arnold Ruess and representing Max Sound, told WIPR that "Google was using this new technology of a small innovator without paying for it”.
In 2010, he said, Max Sound sent Google some technology covered by the patent with a view to striking a licensing deal.
But Arnold said discussions broke down and the technology was sent back with notes allegedly stating that engineers should “close eyes to existing IP”.
It is not the first time Max Sound has made a legal challenge to protect its video streaming patent.
In September, the technology company obtained a preliminary injunction from the District Court of Berlin to stop the sale of a number of Google Android devices at a trade fair show in Germany.
