| Kane Kramer | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 23, 1956 United Kingdom |
| Residence | London United Kingdom |
| Citizenship | United Kingdom |
| Known for | Inventor |
Kane Kramer is a British inventor and business man. He is credited with the initial invention of the digital audio player, in 1979.[1]
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In 1981 Kramer filed for a UK patent for his newly conceived Digital Audio Player, the IXI. UK patent 2115996 was issued in 1985, and U.S. Patent 4,667,088 was issued in 1987. The player was the size of a credit card with a small LCD screen and navigation and volume buttons and would have held data on an 8 MB bubble memory chip with a capacity of 3.5 minutes worth of audio. Five working prototypes were produced and one was unveiled in a trade exhibition in October 1986. Kramer reportedly had £60,000,000 in orders for the device from the music industry. However, in 1988 a boardroom dispute within Kramer's company and the subsequent failure to raise the £60,000 required to renew the patent resulted in the patent lapsing and the designs entered the public domain.[1]
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.
In 2008, Kramer was called as a witness by Apple Inc. to defend itself from charges of patent infringement for its iPod digital audio player. According to the 'Mail Online' edition of 8th September 2008, Apple Inc. had used Mr Kramer’s patents and drawings to defend itself in the legal wrangle with Burst a year earlier and he gave evidence under fire from Burst’s lawyers.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1053152/Apple-admit-Briton-DID-invent-iPod-hes-getting-money.html#ixzz1U52fgtKv[1]
Kramer is still at work in the technology sector. His most recent project, called "Monicall" functions as a dial in service that would make phone call conversations legally binding. Kramer also says he has plans that would end copyright infringement altogether, however no details on this project have been released.