The idea that RealPlayer lives on to this day may not sit well with some techs who remember the times where the product degenerated into a virus that would some times let you play movies.  However, not only were they still in business yesterday, Intel paid them $120 million to acquire the rights to 90 patents and 170 patent applications as well as a codec which seems to have been their main project focus recently.  There must be some value there, it might look like Intel occasionally tosses money around but that is deceiving as Intel did not become as profitable as it is through inauspicious purchases.  According to the story at The Register, this deal is not the death knell for RealNetworks, they retain rights to some patents and seem to be looking forward to working with Intel in the future.  It will be interesting to see if this cash can help RealNetworks regain at least part of what used to be a large share of the online video codec market.

"In the latest maneuver of the tech industry’s ongoing patent wars, Intel has struck a $120m deal with RealNetworks to purchase 190 patents and 170 patent applications, along with what both companies define as "next-generation video codec software"."

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