Shazam Entertainment, makers of the popular iPhone app that tells you what song is playing in the car, store, bar, restaurant, etc., is getting sued for patent infringement by Digimarc, another software company. The suit covers three patents; two date back to 1995 -- long before the iPhone.

Here's the release:

BEAVERTON, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Digimarc Corporation (NASDAQ:DMRC) today announced it has filed a complaint for patent infringement against Shazam Entertainment, Ltd. According to Shazam, it is the world’s leading mobile music discovery provider, marketing software and services that have been used by more than 50 million people in over 150 countries. Digimarc asserts that Shazam’s music identification technology infringes three of Digimarc’s patents, including two patents dating back to 1995. Digimarc’s patents relate to technology that enables devices to identify audio and visual content and immediately link the consumer to associated internet services.

“We prefer negotiated business relations over litigation, but having not made progress in initiating such discussions, we are heading to court to enforce our patents,” stated Bruce Davis, chairman and CEO of Digimarc. “While we are comfortable seeking help from the courts to enforce our intellectual property rights where they are not properly respected, our general approach is to foster adoption of our technologies by establishing mutually profitable business relationships in which we receive fair consideration for our innovations while supporting continued progress toward the realization of a shared vision.”

Digimarc has invented a range of technologies that employ cameras, microphones and other sensors to enable instant identification of all forms of media content. The contextual awareness of the phone combined with instant object identification enables new, more efficient and higher quality methods to search without text input. Applications like Shazam use Digimarc’s innovations to provide more intuitive means for users to search for and get delivery of rich Internet experiences.

The Complaint is filed in U.S. District for the District of Oregon, Civil Action No. 3:09-cv-1355-KI.

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