- Kane Kramer
Infobox_Scientist
name = Kane Kramer
caption = Kane Kramer with an IPod provided to him by Apple Inc. after his copyright deposition on behalf of Apple Inc.
birth_date = birth date and age|1956|4|23
birth_place =United Kingdom flagcountry|United Kingdom
residence = London flagcountry|United Kingdom
citizenship = flagcountry|United Kingdom
known_for = Inventor
genre =
movement =
influences =
influenced =
website = www.kanekramer.comKane Kramer is a British inventor and business man. He is credited with the initial invention of the
digital audio player which lead the way to Apple Inc.'s populariPod music player.Invention of the DAP
memory chip with a capacity of 3:50 minutes worth of audio. Due to the limited nature of solid state memory of the time the IXI was never produced. In 1988 Kramer reportedly had £60,000,000 in orders for the device from the music industry when a coup within Kramer's company kept him from renewing the IXI's patent. The patent was voided shortly afterward and Kramer's designs entered the public domain.
Downloadable Music
Kramer's initial report introducing the IXI also contained detailed descriptions of a possible music download service over phone lines. Kramer reasoned that with freedom from the limitations and expense of physical media the music industry would be able to provide the consumer with more released material from more artists on a tighter schedule. Kramer's system would have also allowed for the downloading of data and software.
Burst.com vs Apple Deposition
In 2006
Burst.com sued Apple Inc. for patent infringements it reported were at the heart of Apple's ubiquitous iPod. In order to combat Burst.com's claims Kane Kramer was invited by Apple to the United States in 2008 to give a deposition that lasted 10 hours. Kramer proved that his drawings and ideas were the original concept behind the iPod and that they predated Burst.com's patents. Burst.com and Apple settled out of court shortly afterward.Current Work
Kramer is still at work in the technology sector. His most recent project, called "Monicall" and would function as a dial in service that would make phone call conversations legally binding. Kramer also says he has plans that would end copyright infringement all together, but no details on this project have been released.
External Links
* [http://www.kanekramer.com Official site of Kane Kramer]
* [http://www.kanekramer.com/downloads/IXI-Report.pdf Original investor's report on the IXI from 1979 (PDF Format)]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
