A start-up which specialises in helping people to learn new languages online has been accused of copyright infringement by British publishing group Hodder & Stoughton.
Language Transfer, which is run by British-born Cypriot Mihalis Eleftheriou, offers online courses which teach new languages using audio and video files uploaded to websites such as YouTube and Soundcloud.
However, in an unusual claim, Hodder & Stoughton has alleged that Mr Eleftheriou’s company has infringed one of its US patents, entitled ‘language teaching system’, which belongs to the estate of famous linguist and author Michel Thomas.
The patent in question effectively covers the concept of ‘teaching a language lesson on tape’, the publisher says.
Specifically, the patent’s wording states that Hodder & Stoughton holds the rights to a certain sequence of “expression segments” played on a “recorded medium” via a “paying device.”
In a letter penned to Mr Eleftheriou, the publisher demands that the entrepreneur stop making his Language Transfer courses available in the US.
However. Mr Eleftheriou, alongside digital rights group the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EEF) strongly disagrees with the publisher’s argument and has contested the copyright claim via letter.
The EEF has reportedly sent a response on the entrepreneur’s behalf arguing that the Hodder & Stoughton’s patent is “plainly invalid” in light of a 2014 Supreme Court decision in the case of Alice V CLS Bank, which found that “an abstract idea does not become eligible for patent protection merely by being implemented on conventional or generic technology.”
“The ’358 patent—which claims a sequence of human expressions on an ordinary tape—is a quintessential example of the kind of patent that fails this test,” the group said.
For the time being, Mr Eleftheriou has confirmed that he will continue to offer his courses across the US with hopes that Hodder & Stoughton will eventually drop what the EEF has described as its “absurd demands.”
Whether or not a heated dispute will arise in coming weeks remains yet to be seen.