Subject: Re: [linux-audio-dev] control curve patent
From: Dave Phillips (dlphilp_AT_bright.net)
Date: Thu Nov 30 2000 - 19:38:33 EET
Paul Barton-Davis wrote:
> macromedia's patent: US5204969 (1993, but continues a patent from 1989)
> [snip]
> BTW if you're into the absurd patent stuff: US6081262 (macromedia got
> a patent for a system "to create multimedia presentations" *this
> year*).
While snooping around the Computer Music Journal site I came across this
tidbit from V.22 #4 (Winter 1998):
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
On 19 May 1998, the Microsoft Corporation was granted a United States
patent (number 5,753,843)
for a "System and Process for Composing Musical Sections" (including 47
claims), this patent
clearly pertaining to the algorithmic generation of music. Computer
Music Journal invited Laurie
Spiegel to write a guest editorial (below) [not included here - DP]
about the implications of such
patents. We also invited letters to the editor in response to the
editorial.
The abstract of the Microsoft patent describes:
A system and process for comprising [sic] a musical section in response
to a user's interaction with
a multimedia presentation. The system includes a composition engine,
performance engine, and
arbitrator. The arbitrator provides an interface with an application
program running a multimedia
presentation. The arbitrator receives parameters from the application
program indicative of a user's
interaction and the type of music the application program requests in
response to the interaction. The
parameters are passed to the composition engine which composes a
musical section having a chord
progression and other data therein. The musical section and a style
provided by the arbitrator are
used by the performance engine to generate music sequence data for
driving a musical instrument.
The performance of the musical sequence data by the musical instrument
occurs substantially
contemporaneously with the user's interaction which caused the musical
section composition.
Because the composition engine uses processes which vary the
composition of musical sections, the
user events which initiate composition of a musical section and which
occur at the same place within
a multimedia presentation, still vary the performance at each user
event.
The claims includes the following text:
A system for composing music in response to a user's interaction with a
multimedia presentation
comprising: an application program interface for receiving parameters
identifying a style, a shape,
and a personality for music that conform to said user's interaction
with said multimedia presentation;
and a composition engine for composing a musical section corresponding
to said parameters so that
a user perceives the performance of the musical section to be related
to said user's interaction with
said multimedia presentation."
Copies of this patent can be purchased from MicroPatent; telephone
(800)648-6787; World Wide
Web http://www.micropat.com.
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Wow...But now I'm worried that I may have inadvertently violated CMJ's
copyright on this information...Aaarghh!!!!!!!!...Oh well, too late
now...
Best regards,
== Dave Phillips
The Book Of Linux Music & Sound at http://www.nostarch.com/lms.htm
The Linux Soundapps Site at http://sound.condorow.net
Currently listening to:
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b28 : Thu Nov 30 2000 - 20:08:26 EET