Seeqpod Next Target for the Major's Legal Machine?

Looks like WMG (or their legal department at least) is now targeting Seeqpod. Who wants to bet the next announcement we see is that Seeqpod is moving to an ad rev-share model with the major labels.

Warner Music Lawyers Roll Again, Seeqpod Latest Target — Digital Music News: "Warner Music Lawyers Roll Again, Seeqpod Latest Target

Warner Music Group is now directing its legal guns at Seeqpod (seeqpod.com), a media-focused search service. The Seeqpod engine resembles larger and more established players like Google, though it focuses on playable media results. That includes a heavy amount of music, and Seeqpod allows users to access and stream millions of songs on-demand through an integrated player.

That eventually grabbed the attention of Warner, which first filed against the engine last week. The label claims that Seeqpod is illegally allowing access to its music by accessing servers worldwide. But Seeqpod notes that it hosts none of the content in question, and therefore enjoys protection under Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Elsewhere, Google also indexes web-hosted MP3s, and search engines represent a growing method for music acquisition."

It was my understanding that search engines were protected (per the story above), but for a little company like Seeqpod it's probably a lot less painful to cut a deal than fight. Thoughts?

Company Claims Patent on Playlists

Ugh...

Company patents playlists, sues everyone: "The patents describe what essentially comes down to a playlist. 'A plurality of works can be collected together in a list for purposes of establishing a play or a presentation sequence. The list can be visually displayed and edited,' reads the '725' patent. Both of them describe ways to graphically display an arrangement of songs from CDs or any manner of media that can then be played back sequentially or out-of-order."

In related news I have filed a patent for a 'plurality of letters that can be grouped together for the purpose of establishing a word'.

If you guys have violated my patent, I will gladly settle out of court with you. :-)