Nathan Schulhof

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Nathan M. Schulhof

Born	May 17, 1949 (1949-05-17) (age 59) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupation	Executive Consultant and public speaker
Website nathanschulhof.com

Nathan M. Schulhof (born May 17, 1949 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is the lead inventor on three U.S. patents (5,557,541; 5,572,442 and 5,841,979), and touts himself as the "father of the MP3 player industry." Schulhof is also listed as co-inventor on another U.S. patent (6,549,942), and a fifth U.S. patent (5,914,941) references 5,557,541 and was assigned (as were the other four patents) to Information Highway Media Corporation (a company co-founded and led by Schulhof when the patents were filed and/or issued).

Schulhof's claim is further bolstered by the fact that the Listen Up Player, a forerunner to the MP3 player, won an Innovation Award from the Consumer Electronics Show in 1997 and an Internet Showcase Award in 1998.

More importantly, a review of the individual patents and their respective claims adds merits to Schulhof's self-proclaimed moniker, as shown in

5,557,541: Apparatus for distributing subscription and on-demand audio programming;
5,572,442: System for distributing subscription and on-demand audio programming;
5,841,979: Enhanced delivery of audio data;
6,549,942: Enhanced delivery of audio data for portable playback; and
5,914,941: Portable information storage/playback apparatus having a data interface.

These patents, along with the remaining assets of audiohighway.com, were acquired in 2003 by Sony Corp.

In addition to his career with audiohighway.com (where he served as president, CEO and board member), Schulhof previously held identical positions with HandHeld Entertainment and TestDrive Corporation, as well as other senior management positions with such technology firms as Silicon Valley Systems and Jasmine Systems.

Currently, Schulhof is an executive consultant and a public speaker. Originally from the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area, Schulhof currently resides in Southern California.