Two things show a company is getting ramped up to enter a business – filing for patents and lining up a trademark.
Microsoft has done both in the online video arena and could be in a position to take on Joost. A recently filed trademark image and a look at Joost matched up to Microsoft’s video + chat patent after the jump.
The symbol shown to the right was recently trademarked by Microsoft under the following business description:
computer software for delivery of broadcast-quality video and television programming over broadband, cable, satellite and wireless networks; computer software for providing video-on-demand services; downloadable films and TV programs provided via video-on-demand; computer software for transmitting personal photos, video and music over broadband, cable, satellite and wireless networks; computer software for digital video recording; and computer software for providing a programming guide to display available video and television broadcasts and downloads
Interesting. Even more so when reading a recent issued patent that Microsoft received covering delivering network TV + Chat. With momentum building with Joost as a early front running IPTV player, Microsoft could be building up to a launch of its own.
As an overview, Wikipedia’s Joost entry describes its technology as: P2PTV technology and is expected to deliver (relaying) near-TV resolution images. It turns a PC into an instant on-demand TV without any need for additional set top box. News updates, discussion forums, show ratings, and multi-user chat sessions (often linked to the active stream/channel) are made possible through the use of semi-transparent widget overlays.
An example of Microsoft’s claim with Joost’s description in mind:
While this patent may or may not be a direct issue for Joost, Microsoft’s move to get a logo, accumulate a portfolio of IP and a recent purchase of advertising platform aQuantive are a lot of pieces of a building puzzle.
Microsoft Trademarks Video Service [TechAddress]
Microsoft Enhanced TV [CG]