US 7,130,608 · Granted 2006-10-31

The Ericsson Patent That Invented Synchronized Listening Between Phones

Imagine you're on a call with a friend and want to listen to the same song together in real time, even though you're miles apart. This patent describes how two phones can sync up so that audio playing on one device gets sent to the other and plays at the same moment, creating a shared listening experience over a phone connection.

Curated and verified by the IsItPatented Editorial team

The plain-English version

What it protects

The claim covers a method where audio signals played back on one communications device (like a mobile phone) are transmitted to a second communications device and played back there simultaneously or nearly simultaneously. What's protected here is the specific process of capturing audio from the first device, transmitting those signals, and synchronizing playback on the receiving device so that both listeners hear the same content at the same time.

Why it matters

Filed in 2000 and granted in 2006, this patent captured an early vision of synchronized audio sharing across separate devices—a concept that predated modern streaming services and social listening features by years. For Ericsson, a major telecom equipment maker, this represented intellectual property around the infrastructure and methods that would eventually enable shared audio experiences as a standard feature in consumer communications.

Real-world use

When two people on a phone call or video chat play the same song and hear it in sync, or when a concert streams to multiple devices in a room and everyone hears it at the same moment, that synchronization is built on principles this patent protects.

Original USPTO abstract

A method of using a first communications device, such as a mobile telephone, together with at least one other communications device, such as a telephone, comprises the steps of playing back audio signals in the first communications device, transmitting the same audio signals to the other communications device, and playing back the audio signals in the other communications device. By transmitting the audio signals played back in the first communications device to the other device and playing them back there, shared audio listening is achieved and in this way the communications devices can be used also for the shared listening to e.g. music. Thus it is possible for two persons present at different locations to listen to the same audio signals simultaneously or at least almost simultaneously.

Patent details

Publication number: US 7,130,608
Filing date: 2000-11-30
Grant date: 2006-10-31
Assignee: Telefonaktiegolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ)
Inventor(s): HOLLSTROEM MAGNUS, BORGSTROEM ANDERS
CPC class: H04M1/72403

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