British startup Bluejay Technologies filed a patent infringement lawsuit against music streaming giant Spotify, accusing the latter’s “remote group session” function and its successor product “Jam” of infringing one of its patents.
In a lawsuit filed on August 2 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the startup claims that two Spotify features infringe Bluebird Technology U.S. Patent No. 11,627,344, titled “Streaming Media System.”
Founded in 2014, Bluejay developed a system that allows one person to act as a host, curating and sharing streaming playlists with friends on the fly. Listeners can join the session and experience the music simultaneously, replicating the virtual DJ experience.
After developing the system in 2015, Bluejay launched a streaming service and became an “internet broadcaster” and received PRS and PPL In the UK, it said in the document. The company then sought funding and held B2B discussions with streaming companies and music labels.
The company claims that they pitched their concept to Spotify in 2018, demonstrating what their app could do. Although Spotify expressed interest in the app during the meeting, Bluejay said he had “heard no further news from Spotify.”
Bluejay said in its complaint that it was “aware of Spotify’s interest in this technology because it has repeatedly mentioned this technology or similar engagement features in public statements and in the media.”
Spotify finally launched Remote group conference A feature launched in May 2020 that allows up to five premium users to listen to music or podcasts remotely together. This feature allows participants to join a remote group session by receiving an invitation via text message, messaging app, or social media. By opening the link or scanning the Spotify code, the Spotify app will automatically launch and prompt users to join the session so they can listen to analog radio together.
Last year it was replaced by a jam, It allows up to 32 users to collaborate instantly on creating playlists. With Jam, premium users can invite others to join a shared queue, allowing each member to add songs for instant listening.
Bluejay claims that Spotify’s features infringe its patents because they “provide a method for simulating a live broadcast of a programmed audio music playlist session from a host device to multiple receiving devices over the Internet.”
The startup is seeking a court order declaring that Spotify infringed their patents and seeking monetary damages to compensate for the alleged infringement.
Spotify has also faced lawsuits over its decision to classify its premium subscriptions as “bundles.” Spotify asked a U.S. federal court in June to dismiss Machinery Licensing Collective (multilayer capacitor)’s lawsuit, saying that continuing the case would “waste a lot of time and resources.”
However, MLC’s attorneys recently hit back at Spotify, saying: “MLC opposes Spotify’s motion to dismiss because the motion is based on a mischaracterization of the allegations fully defended in MLC’s complaint and the newly alleged facts far exceed or are inconsistent with MLC’s assertions. contradiction.
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