Friskit Claims Patent Infringement

A struggling start-up is suing RealNetworks Inc. and Listen.com Inc. for patent infringement, claiming to hold fundamental patents over the technology for streaming digital media through the Internet.

San Francisco-based Friskit Inc. filed the lawsuit Friday in federal court in Chicago, seeking an injunction against and an unspecified amount of damages from the two companies. The suit came after a recent series of talks between Real and Friskit failed to produce a licensing agreement, said George Aposporos, Friskit’s co-founder.

Seattle-based Real is a leading supplier of streaming-media technology and services, and it is in the process of buying Listen, which is based in San Francisco. Listen sells Rhapsody, a subscription music service that is built around streaming audio. Real and Listen both declined to comment on the case.

The lawsuit focuses on three patents held by Friskit that cover searching for multiple pieces of music online, finding them and playing them in an uninterrupted sequence.

“We’ve got patents that provide the critical convenience features that consumers will pay for,” Aposporos said. “I think that if Rhapsody were to try to create a product that were not infringing, people would not pay for it.”

The privately held Friskit briefly offered its own music service three years ago, which enabled users to search for and play songs that a wide range of Web sites made available for streaming. But the company was unable to raise the money needed to continue offering the service, and it has been unable to find any customers for its technology, Aposporos said.

“Absent our patent enforcement, people are just going to go ahead and use these ideas anyway,” he said. “We were hoping Real would be the first [licensee]. Unfortunately, sometimes you have to show people you’re serious before they realize the value of your patents.”