Microsoft Rolls Up Another Set of DRM Patents
The Register reported that Microsoft has purchased the Patent library of Liquid Audio. This provides the company with another suite of Digital Rights Management (DRM) patents that may make it easier for them to control the distribution of copyrighted entertainment in the future.
The scary part of this story is the price reportedly paid for the patents: $7 million for 20 or more U.S. and foreign patents. Seven million dollars is a very low price, considering what Microsoft will probably be able to charge in the future when it uses its formidable library of patents in conjunction with the newly acquired ones.