Los Angeles – The NY Times reports that defunct online video provider Intertainer filed a patent suit last week in U.S. District Court in Marshall, Texas alleging that Apple, Google and Napster are infringing on a 2005 patent that covers the commercial distribution of audio and video over the Internet.

The suit requests that the court grant a permanent injunction barring the defendants from activities which infringe on the patent as well as monetary damages. The defendants in the case have yet to respond to the allegations.

Intertainer launched in 1996 with investments from Comcast Corp., Intel Corp., Microsoft Corp., Sony Corp. and NBC to provide video on demand services over the Internet and to cable services. The company shut down in 2002 after filing a federal lawsuit alleging that Sony, Time Warner, and NBC Universal were conspiring to force it out of business by refusing to license films for the service or charging higher fees in order to favor their new service, Movielink.

In March 2006, Intertainer entered into a settlement agreement with the defendants that resolved the antitrust lawsuit.

Related Links:
http://www.intertainer.com
http://tinyurl.com/yg8rfh
http://tinyurl.com/y92p2d