Burst.com
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Burst.com is a company that specializes in software for video and audio delivery over the Internet. It is located in Santa Rosa, California.
Recently, Burst.com has focused on enforcing patents it holds on "Faster-Than-Real-Time" delivery of audio and video content, which Burst obtained between 1990 and 1992. These patents are quite controversial since the inventions and techniques they cover have become commonplace. With the dawn of streaming media on the Internet, they are arguably software patents, which are controversial in their own right.
While Burst.com has some notable supporters like Robert X. Cringely, there are also many critics of the company and its patents.
In March 2005, burst.com received $60 million as settlement in its suit against Microsoft over unauthorized use of its streaming media technology. In April 2006, burst.com pursued legal action against Apple Computer in regard to burst.com's patents on streaming video and time-shifting of video.
