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Patents

Expiration of Patents

Removed:

However, U.S. patents can only last up to 20 years from the date of filing which must be within one year of first publication. MP3 was released as a specification in 1991, so if U.S. courts applied U.S. law, no patent claims could apply to MP3 itself after 2012.
Any U.S. patent filed after 1992 should (by law) have any claims pertaining to MP3 struck down considering the published specification as prior art. If they had been published earlier (such as in public drafts), the latest date would be even earlier.
Current US patent law has the patents expire at most 20 years after filing. However, at the time that many of the patents were filed, it was 17 years after the patent was granted. In the big list of patents, #5,924,060 was filed August 29, 1987, so it was filed before the published specifications. But it was granted on July 13, 1999, so 17 years after that is July 13, 2016. So, sorry, but under the law that it was granted under, it expires in 2016. Jrincayc 03:23, 5 October 2007 (UTC)
See [1]. The law changed in 1995, so presumably patent 5,924,060 was under the old law of 17 years from being granted. Jrincayc 03:27, 5 October 2007 (UTC)
Has anyone done a study of when the patents required for playing an mp3 expire? Jrincayc (talk) 04:48, 4 March 2008 (UTC)
I could be wrong, but it looks like it might be 2013 is the year that the last patents for playing an MP3 expire. I am assuming that anything filed after 1993 must only be necessary for encoding, since MP3 was a standard by then. All of the other ones that expire after 2013 look like they are about encoding MP3s. Can someone verify this? 75.174.1.63 (talk) 19:29, 27 April 2008 (UTC)
After looking it up myself, here are the facts that I found: The initial near complete MPEG-1 standard (parts 1,2,3) was publicly available in December 6, 1991 as ISO CD 11172. [2][3] The final version of the MPEG-1 specification describes decoding and includes pseudo-code for the decoding. It also has hints as to how to encode MPEG-1 audio, but is not as detailed for that. In the US, patents must be filed within one year of publication or they are invalid. US patents filed before about 1995 last the longer of 17 years from the date that they are granted, or 20 years from the date of filing. The last US MP3 patent to expire that was filed by December 1992 (one year after publication of the draft standard) expires in December 2012. So, it should be theoretically possible to implement MP3 decoders patent free at that time. In otherwords, I think that a statement similar to the one I removed can be readded. If no-one has any objections I will do so after at least a week, or someone else can do so. Jrincayc (talk)
I added it back into the article, with three reference links. Jrincayc (talk) 21:52, 12 October 2008 (UTC)
Either I copied the date down wrong, or it was wrong at the MP3 patent list, but #5,924,060 was filed on August 29, 1997, so it probably can't apply to MP3 decoding, since that was specified in the August 1993 ISO MPEG-1 standard ISO/IEC 11172-3. Jrincayc (talk) 13:42, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

Here is the list of when MP3 patents expire. I am not sure how to deal with a reissued patent, but I think it probably expires based on the original patent date. US 5,742,735 is the last one to expire that was filed by August 1994 (one year from the MPEG-1 decoding spec being published, so decoding probably is safe by April, 22 2015. Some of these patents may not be necessary for encoding or decoding MP3. Also, I just did the later of 17 after the granting date, or 20 years after the filing date. Jrincayc (talk) 14:49, 1 June 2008 (UTC) (Replaced with better table using User:Jrincayc/Patent_utils Jrincayc (talk) 03:37, 17 July 2008 (UTC))

I have updated the program, to better deal with patent divisions, patent continuations, and PCT filings. It now looks the like the actual date of expiration is probably around 2015. Jrincayc (talk) 03:22, 30 April 2011 (UTC)

Note that program is limited to the information that it can parse out of the patent text. If it can't find a exact date, it will put 32 as the day of the month. Also, at least some of the patents put the needed information in strange places, so some of the time it will be wrong. Jrincayc (talk) 14:25, 1 May 2011 (UTC)

Patent Filed Granted First File Expiration Summary Notes Company
5341457 20 aug 1993 23 aug 1994 30 dec 1988 23 aug 2011 Perceptual coding of audio signals [4] file+20: [2013, 8, 20] related_patent+20:[2008, 12, 30] grant+17:[2011, 8, 23] Case Text: This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/962,151, filed on Oct. 16, 1992 abandoned which is a cont. of Ser. No. 07/844,967 filed Feb. 28, 1992, now abandoned, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/292,598 filed on Dec. 30, 1988, now abandoned, and claims priority thereto. Alcatel-Lucent
RE39080 22 sep 1994 06 may 1997 30 dec 1988 06 may 2014 Rate loop processor for perceptual encoder/decoder Reissue of 05627938 filed 13 aug 2002 granted 25 apr 2006 [5] file+20: [2014, 9, 22] related_patent+20:[2008, 12, 30] grant+17:[2014, 5, 6] Case Text: This .Iadd.is a reissue .Iaddend.application .Iadd.of U.S. Pat. No. 5,627,938 filed Sep. 22, 1994 as application Ser. No. 08/310,898 which .Iaddend.is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/844,811, filed on Mar. 2, 1992, now abandoned.Iadd., which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 07/844,967 filed Feb. 28, 1992, now abandoned, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 07/292,598 filed Dec. 30, 1988 now abandoned.Iaddend.. Alcatel-Lucent
4972484 21 jul 1988 20 nov 1990 20 nov 1987 20 nov 2007 Method of transmitting or storing masked sub-band coded audio signals [6] file+20: [2008, 7, 21] pct_file+20:[2007, 11, 20] grant+17:[2007, 11, 20] Audio MPEG, Inc
5214678 31 may 1990 25 may 1993 31 may 1990 31 may 2010 Digital transmission system using subband coding of a digital signal [7] file+20: [2010, 5, 31] grant+17:[2010, 5, 25] Audio MPEG, Inc
5323396 21 dec 1992 21 jun 1994 01 jun 1990 21 jun 2011 Digital transmission system, transmitter and receiver for use in the transmission system [8] file+20: [2012, 12, 21] related_patent+20:[2010, 6, 1] grant+17:[2011, 6, 21] Case Text: This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/532,462 filed Jun. 1, 1990 now abandoned. Audio MPEG, Inc
5539829 07 jun 1995 23 jul 1996 01 jun 1990 23 jul 2013 Subband coded digital transmission system using some composite signals [9] file+20: [2015, 6, 7] related_patent+20:[2010, 6, 1] grant+17:[2013, 7, 23] Case Text: This application is a division of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/173,850 filed Dec. 27, 1993, which is continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/997,158 filed Dec. 21, 1992, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,323,396, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/532,462 filed on Jun. 1, 1990 by Gerardus C. P. Lokhoff for DIGITAL TRANSMISSION SYSTEM, TRANSMITTER AND RECEIVER FOR USE IN THE TRANSMISSION SYSTEM, AND RECORD CARRIER OBTAINED BY MEANS OF THE TRANSMITTER IN THE FORM OF A RECORDING DEVICE, now abandoned. Audio MPEG, Inc
5606618 27 dec 1993 25 feb 1997 01 jun 1990 25 feb 2014 Subband coded digital transmission system using some composite signals [10] file+20: [2013, 12, 27] related_patent+20:[2010, 6, 1] grant+17:[2014, 2, 25] Case Text: This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/997,158 filed Dec. 21, 1992 now U.S Pat. No. 5,32,396, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/532,462 filed on Jun. 1, 1990 by Gerardus C. P. Lokhoff for DIGITAL TRANSMISSION SYSTEM, TRANSMITTER AND RECEIVER FOR USE IN THE TRANSMISSION SYSTEM, AND RECORD CARRIER OBTAINED BY MEANS OF THE TRANSMITTER IN THE FORM OF A RECORDING DEVICE, now abandoned. Audio MPEG, Inc
5530655 06 jun 1995 25 jun 1996 01 jun 1990 25 jun 2013 Digital sub-band transmission system with transmission of an additional signal [11] file+20: [2015, 6, 6] related_patent+20:[2010, 6, 1] grant+17:[2013, 6, 25] Case Text: This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/190,807, filed Feb. 1, 1994, now abandoned, which is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/173,850 filed Dec. 27, 1993, by Gerardus C. P. Lokhoff, Y. F. Dehery, and G. Stoll for SUBBAND CODED DIGITAL TRANSMISSION SYSTEM USING SOME COMPOSITE SIGNALS, which is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/997,158 filed Dec. 21, 1992, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,323,396 issued Jun. 21, 1994, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/532,462, filed on Jun. 1, 1990 by Gerardus C. P. Lokhoff for DIGITAL TRANSMISSION SYSTEM, TRANSMITTER AND RECEIVER FOR USE IN THE TRANSMISSION SYSTEM, AND RECORD CARRIER OBTAINED BY MEANS OF THE TRANSMITTER IN THE FORM OF A RECORDING DEVICE, now abandoned. Audio MPEG, Inc
5777992 07 jun 1995 07 jul 1998 01 jun 1990 07 jul 2015 Decoder for decoding and encoded digital signal and a receiver comprising the decoder [12] file+20: [2015, 6, 7] related_patent+20:[2010, 6, 1] grant+17:[2015, 7, 7] Case Text: This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/173,850 filed Dec. 27, 1993, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,606,618, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/997,158 filed Dec. 21, 1992, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,323,396, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/532,462 filed on Jun. 1, 1990 by Gerardus C. P. Lokhoff for DIGITAL TRANSMISSION SYSTEM, TRANSMITTER AND RECEIVER FOR USE IN THE TRANSMISSION SYSTEM, AND RECORD CARRIER OBTAINED BY MEANS OF THE TRANSMITTER IN THE FORM OF A RECORDING DEVICE, now abandoned. Audio MPEG, Inc
6289308 08 mar 2000 11 sep 2001 01 jun 1990 01 jun 2010 Encoded wideband digital transmission signal and record carrier recorded with such a signal [13] file+20: [2020, 3, 8] related_patent+20:[2010, 6, 1] term extension 0 days Case Text: This application is a division of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/488,536 filed Jun. 7, 1995 now abandoned, which is a division of application Ser. No. 08/173,850 filed Dec. 27, 1993, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,606,618, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/997,158 filed Dec. 21, 1992, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,323,396, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/532,462 filed on Jun. 1, 1990 now abandoned, by Gerardus C. P. Lokhoff for DIGITAL TRANSMISSION SYSTEM, TRANSMITTER AND RECEIVER FOR USE IN THE TRANSMISSION SYSTEM, AND RECORD CARRIER OBTAINED BY MEANS OF THE TRANSMITTER IN THE FORM OF A RECORDING DEVICE, now abandoned. Audio MPEG, Inc
5481643 24 apr 1995 02 jan 1996 18 mar 1993 18 mar 2013 Transmitter, receiver and record carrier for transmitting/receiving at least a first and a second signal component [14] file+20: [2015, 4, 24] related_patent+20:[2013, 3, 18] grant+17:[2013, 1, 2] Case Text: This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/180,004, filed Jan. 11, 1994 which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 08/032,915, filed Mar. 18, 1993, both now abandoned. Audio MPEG, Inc
5544247 25 oct 1994 06 aug 1996 25 oct 1994 25 oct 2014 Transmission and reception of a first and a second main signal component [15] file+20: [2014, 10, 25] grant+17:[2013, 8, 6] Audio MPEG, Inc
5610985 21 jan 1994 11 mar 1997 21 jan 1994 11 mar 2014 Digital 3-channel transmission of left and right stereo signals and a center signal [16] file+20: [2014, 1, 21] grant+17:[2014, 3, 11] Audio MPEG, Inc
5740317 30 aug 1995 14 apr 1998 21 jul 1992 14 apr 2015 Process for finding the overall monitoring threshold during a bit-rate-reducing source coding [17] file+20: [2015, 8, 30] related_patent+20:[2013, 9, 17] pct_file+20:[2012, 7, 21] grant+17:[2015, 4, 14] Case Text: This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/119,109, filed Sep. 17, 1993 (now abandoned). Audio MPEG, Inc
5878080 07 feb 1997 02 mar 1999 07 feb 1997 07 feb 2017 N-channel transmission, compatible with 2-channel transmission and 1-channel transmission [18] file+20: [2017, 2, 7] Audio MPEG, Inc
5960037 09 apr 1997 28 sep 1999 09 apr 1997 09 apr 2017 Encoding of a plurality of information signals [19] file+20: [2017, 4, 9] Audio MPEG, Inc
5991715 31 aug 1995 23 nov 1999 31 aug 1995 31 aug 2015 Perceptual audio signal subband coding using value classes for successive scale factor differences [20] file+20: [2015, 8, 31] Case Text: This application is a Continuation of application Ser. No. 08/094,028, filed Jul. 26, 1993 (now abandoned), which is a 371 of PCT/EP91/01211 Jun. 6, 1991. Audio MPEG, Inc
6023490 09 apr 1997 08 feb 2000 09 apr 1997 09 apr 2017 Encoding apparatus for encoding a plurality of information signals [21] file+20: [2017, 4, 9] Audio MPEG, Inc
4821260 16 dec 1987 11 apr 1989 16 dec 1987 16 dec 2007 Transmission system [22] file+20: [2007, 12, 16] grant+17:[2006, 4, 11] Thomson
4942607 03 feb 1988 17 jul 1990 03 feb 1988 03 feb 2008 Method of transmitting an audio signal [23] file+20: [2008, 2, 3] grant+17:[2007, 7, 17] Thomson
5214742 01 oct 1990 25 may 1993 26 jan 1990 25 may 2010 Method for transmitting a signal [24] file+20: [2010, 10, 1] pct_file+20:[2010, 1, 26] grant+17:[2010, 5, 25] Thomson
5227990 17 jan 1992 13 jul 1993 17 jan 1992 17 jan 2012 Process for transmitting and receiving a signal [25] file+20: [2012, 1, 17] grant+17:[2010, 7, 13] Thomson
5384811 24 aug 1992 24 jan 1995 08 oct 1990 24 jan 2012 Method for the transmission of a signal [26] file+20: [2012, 8, 24] pct_file+20:[2010, 10, 8] grant+17:[2012, 1, 24] Thomson
5736943 31 may 1996 07 apr 1998 08 jul 1994 07 apr 2015 Method for determining the type of coding to be selected for coding at least two signals [27] file+20: [2016, 5, 31] pct_file+20:[2014, 7, 8] grant+17:[2015, 4, 7] Thomson
5455833 26 apr 1993 03 oct 1995 25 oct 1990 03 oct 2012 Process for the detecting of errors in the transmission of frequency-coded digital signals [28] file+20: [2013, 4, 26] pct_file+20:[2010, 10, 25] grant+17:[2012, 10, 3] Thomson
5559834 15 apr 1994 24 sep 1996 06 oct 1992 24 sep 2013 Method of reducing crosstalk in processing of acoustic or optical signals [29] file+20: [2014, 4, 15] pct_file+20:[2012, 10, 6] grant+17:[2013, 9, 24] Thomson
5321729 26 apr 1993 14 jun 1994 24 jun 1991 24 jun 2011 Method for transmitting a signal [30] file+20: [2013, 4, 26] related_patent+20:[2011, 6, 24] grant+17:[2011, 6, 14] Case Text: This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/718,402, filed Jun. 24, 1991, now abandoned. Thomson
5706309 02 may 1995 06 jan 1998 02 nov 1993 06 jan 2015 Process for transmitting and/or storing digital signals of multiple channels [31] file+20: [2015, 5, 2] pct_file+20:[2013, 11, 2] grant+17:[2015, 1, 6] Thomson
5701346 12 sep 1996 23 dec 1997 02 feb 1995 02 feb 2015 Method of coding a plurality of audio signals [32] file+20: [2016, 9, 12] pct_file+20:[2015, 2, 2] grant+17:[2014, 12, 23] Thomson
5742735 25 aug 1994 21 apr 1998 20 apr 1989 21 apr 2015 Digital adaptive transformation coding method [33] file+20: [2014, 8, 25] related_patent+20:[2009, 4, 20] grant+17:[2015, 4, 21] Case Text: This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/133,273 filed Oct. 7, 1993 now abandoned which is a continuation of Ser. No. 07/982,063 filed Nov. 25, 1992 now abandoned, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 07/716,769 filed Jun. 19, 1991 now abandoned, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 07/347,806, filed as PCT/DE88/00618, Oct. 6, 1988 published as WO89/03574, Apr. 20, 1989 now abandoned. Thomson
5812672 15 dec 1994 22 sep 1998 13 oct 1992 22 sep 2015 Method for reducing data in the transmission and/or storage of digital signals of several dependent channels [34] file+20: [2014, 12, 15] pct_file+20:[2012, 10, 13] grant+17:[2015, 9, 22] Thomson
5579430 26 jan 1995 26 nov 1996 32 dec 1991 26 nov 2013 Digital encoding process [35] file+20: [2015, 1, 26] related_patent+20:[2011, 12, 32] grant+17:[2013, 11, 26] Case Text: This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/169,768, filed on Dec. 20, 1993, now abandoned, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/768,239, filed as PCT/DE90/00286 on Apr. 12, 1990, which is now abandoned. Thomson
6185539 26 may 1998 06 feb 2001 19 feb 1997 19 feb 2017 Process of low sampling rate digital encoding of audio signals [36] file+20: [2018, 5, 26] pct_file+20:[2017, 2, 19] Thomson
6009399 16 apr 1997 28 dec 1999 16 apr 1997 16 apr 2017 Method and apparatus for encoding digital signals employing bit allocation using combinations of different threshold models to achieve desired bit rates [37] file+20: [2017, 4, 16] Thomson
5924060 20 mar 1997 13 jul 1999 14 jan 1991 14 jan 2011 Digital coding process for transmission or storage of acoustical signals by transforming of scanning values into spectral coefficients [38] file+20: [2017, 3, 20] related_patent+20:[2011, 1, 14] Case Text: This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/650,896, filed on May 17, 1996, (now abandoned) which was a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/519,620, filed on Sep. 25, 1995, (now abandoned) which was a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/977,748, filed on Nov. 16, 1992, (now abandoned), which was a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/816,528, filed on Dec. 30, 1991, (now abandoned), which was a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/640,550, filed on Jan. 14, 1991, (now abandoned), which was a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/177,550, filed on Apr. 4, 1991, (now abandoned) as international application serial No. PCT/DE87/00384, filed Aug. 29, 1987, claiming priority to foreign appl. No. P3629434.9, filed Aug. 29, 1986. Thomson
5703999 18 nov 1996 30 dec 1997 32 feb 1995 32 feb 2015 Process for reducing data in the transmission and/or storage of digital signals from several interdependent channels [39] file+20: [2016, 11, 18] related_patent+20:[2015, 2, 32] Case Text: This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/338,618, filed as PCT/DE93/00448 May 18, 1993. Thomson

Patent List

List of the MP3 Patents for reference. Jrincayc (talk) 15:03, 11 May 2008 (UTC)

  • Alcatel-Lucent [40]
    • US 5,341,457 -- Perceptual coding of audio signals -- Filed: August 20, 1993 Granted: August 23, 1994 [41]
    • US RE39,080 -- Rate loop processor for perceptual encoder/decoder -- Filed: August 13, 2002 Granted: April 25, 2006 [42] Reissue of 05627938 Filed: Sep., 1994 Granted: May., 1997
  • Audio MPEG, Inc [43]
    • US 4,972,484 -- Method of transmitting or storing masked sub-band coded audio signals -- Filed: July 21, 1988 Granted: November 20, 1990 [44]
    • US 5,214,678 -- Digital transmission system using subband coding of a digital signal -- Filed: May 31, 1990 Granted: May 25, 1993 [45]
    • US 5,323,396 -- Digital transmission system, transmitter and receiver for use in the transmission system -- Filed: December 21, 1992 Granted: June 21, 1994 [46]
    • US 5,539,829 -- Subband coded digital transmission system using some composite signals -- Filed: June 7, 1995 Granted: July 23, 1996 [47]
    • US 5,606,618 -- Subband coded digital transmission system using some composite signals -- Filed: December 27, 1993 Granted: February 25, 1997 [48]
    • US 5,530,655 -- Digital sub-band transmission system with transmission of an additional signal -- Filed: June 6, 1995 Granted: June 25, 1996 [49]
    • US 5,777,992 -- Decoder for decoding and encoded digital signal and a receiver comprising the decoder -- Filed: June 7, 1995 Granted: July 7, 1998 [50]
    • US 6,289,308 -- Encoded wideband digital transmission signal and record carrier recorded with such a signal -- Filed: March 8, 2000 Granted: September 11, 2001 [51]
    • US 5,481,643 -- Transmitter, receiver and record carrier for transmitting/receiving at least a first and a second signal component -- Filed: April 24, 1995 Granted: January 2, 1996 [52]
    • US 5,544,247 -- Transmission and reception of a first and a second main signal component -- Filed: October 25, 1994 Granted: August 6, 1996 [53]
    • US 5,610,985 -- Digital 3-channel transmission of left and right stereo signals and a center signal -- Filed: January 21, 1994 Granted: March 11, 1997 [54]
    • US 5,740,317 -- Process for finding the overall monitoring threshold during a bit-rate-reducing source coding -- Filed: August 30, 1995 Granted: April 14, 1998 [55]
    • US 5,878,080 -- N-channel transmission, compatible with 2-channel transmission and 1-channel transmission -- Filed: February 7, 1997 Granted: March 2, 1999 [56]
    • US 5,960,037 -- Encoding of a plurality of information signals -- Filed: April 9, 1997 Granted: September 28, 1999 [57]
    • US 5,991,715 -- Perceptual audio signal subband coding using value classes for successive scale factor differences -- Filed: August 31, 1995 Granted: November 23, 1999 [58]
    • US 6,023,490 -- Encoding apparatus for encoding a plurality of information signals -- Filed: April 9, 1997 Granted: February 8, 2000 [59]
  • Thomson [60]
    • US 4,821,260 Expired [61]
    • US 4,942,607 Expired [62]
    • US 5,214,742 -- Method for transmitting a signal -- Filed: October 1, 1990 Granted: May 25, 1993 [63]
    • US 5,227,990 -- Process for transmitting and receiving a signal -- Filed: January 17, 1992 Granted: July 13, 1993 [64]
    • US 5,384,811 -- Method for the transmission of a signal -- Filed: August 24, 1992 Granted: January 24, 1995 [65]
    • US 5,736,943 -- Method for determining the type of coding to be selected for coding at least two signals -- Filed: May 31, 1996 Granted: April 7, 1998 [66]
    • US 5,455,833 -- Process for the detecting of errors in the transmission of frequency-coded digital signals -- Filed: April 26, 1993 Granted: October 3, 1995 [67]
    • US 5,559,834 -- Method of reducing crosstalk in processing of acoustic or optical signals -- Filed: April 15, 1994 Granted: September 24, 1996 [68]
    • US 5,321,729 -- Method for transmitting a signal -- Filed: April 26, 1993 Granted: June 14, 1994 [69]
    • US 5,706,309 -- Process for transmitting and/or storing digital signals of multiple channels -- Filed: May 2, 1995 Granted: January 6, 1998 [70]
    • US 5,701,346 -- Method of coding a plurality of audio signals -- Filed: September 12, 1996 Granted: December 23, 1997 [71]
    • US 5,742,735 -- Digital adaptive transformation coding method -- Filed: August 25, 1994 Granted: April 21, 1998 [72]
    • US 5,812,672 -- Method for reducing data in the transmission and/or storage of digital signals of several dependent channels -- Filed: December 15, 1994 Granted: September 22, 1998 [73]
    • US 5,579,430 -- Digital encoding process -- Filed: January 26, 1995 Granted: November 26, 1996 [74]
    • US 6,185,539 -- Process of low sampling rate digital encoding of audio signals -- Filed: May 26, 1998 Granted: February 6, 2001 [75]
    • US 6,009,399 -- Method and apparatus for encoding digital signals employing bit allocation using combinations of different threshold models to achieve desired bit rates -- Filed: April 16, 1997 Granted: December 28, 1999 [76]
    • US 5,924,060 -- Digital coding process for transmission or storage of acoustical signals by transforming of scanning values into spectral coefficients -- Filed: March 20, 1997 Granted: July 13, 1999 [77]
    • US 5,703,999 -- Process for reducing data in the transmission and/or storage of digital signals from several interdependent channels -- Filed: November 18, 1996 Granted: December 30, 1997 [78]
I think that this list would need to be cleaned a bit. Some AT&T/Bell/Lucent/Alcatel patents are likely missing, and some of the listed patents do not cover mp3 (ex: US 6,185,539) --Gabriel Bouvigne (talk) 19:25, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
Go for it. I would love a comprehensive list of the patents. Jrincayc (talk) 03:04, 12 May 2008 (UTC)