Microsoft has been planning this for some time. We had a previous article here with the technical whitepaper. This is simple with the technical terms removed: You buy a track from Zune Marketplace (or in the future videos, software, games etc), when you share it with the 3 days 3 plays restriction to a friend and he decides to also buy it, you get some profit.

It seems this is very possible to happen as we read on GMSV blog (Gooooood Moooorniiiing Silicon Valley !): A source with direct knowledge of the transaction tells me that Microsoft signed a patent non-assertion agreement that grants Shared Media Licensing the rights to exploit its patent and any patents related to it without fear of legal repercussions. So if Microsoft should roll out a Zune compensated sharing program based on it, Shared Media Licensing and Weedshare already are in a unique position to leverage it for their own benefit.

In plain English Zune can take the Weedshare model, use it and expand it. This is the second confirmation after J Allard talking about it on 11th November. Of course as we read on GMSV he refuses to talk about it now.

links: Microsoft Buys Weedshare's IP | GMSV article