First of all, I'm an adult webmaster who was also sent a letter like the rest of you who have that paper. So, I'm one of you guys.
I'm also interested in learning more about their patent and their case, like the rest of you.
We have IMPA on the live show, they sent out their message and answered questions. It's only natural to have them on to answer questions. I don't think anyone really has a problem with them explaining things to us, you would like to know more right?
Second, I only use video streaming for personal interest, like my D$ Show. I don't have members area's using video at all, I market other peoples. For me to shut down my videos wouldn't financially hurt me, since we do the D$ Show for fun and not for the money. We currently only have XBiz as a live show sponsor to cover live show costs. My point is that we really do these shows as a way for webmasters to learn while having fun. Lately these issues are effecting everyone, so it's natural we'd want to discuss it openly.
2 things can happen at this point. Either you can get a license, or you don't get their license. Wouldn't you want to know the effects of your decision? They're either going to win in court, or lose. What if they win? Then everyone will have to get a license and possibly pay triple for the past 6 years. That's a lot to lose. If they don't win in court, everything goes back to the way it was, no fees.
My personal opinion before my last live show is that other technologies pre date their claim. Am I right in that belief? It doesn't matter because a court decides based on the evidence given from IMPA. But as on now, they do own a patent and they have a right to send papers asking for a licensing fee.
I had my first discussion with Acacia today. My first impressions are that they really don't want to put people out of business and they're open to negotiate depending on your situation. I've heard one side of the argument without the other, so far. We'll learn more next week, together, live.
It makes more sense to me to discuss things with them and learn then to muther fuck them without learning.
Originally posted by titmowse the last time i tried to participate in the java chat for the d-money show, it wouldn't let me log in. is there a mIRC channel for the show?
better yet, will there be call in questions? i would love to know the phone number for that option.
Usually we take a caller or so. I can promise you that if you have a good question, we'll ask it for you, just post it here. If you participate in the live chat room (use MIRC it's way better), we can also ask your questions because I can multitask, read and talk at the same time.
All I ask is to be professional and make good arguments and we'll ask.
I've never been afraid to ask questions. I won't hold anything back.
I had my first discussion with Acacia today. My first impressions are that they really don't want to put people out of business and they're open to negotiate depending on your situation.
You are using your position of authority to give power to a company who is trying to destroy the industry that supports you.
Spin it any way you want, but it also sounds a lot like you are defending Acacia in your post.
I'm trying to put on my talk show hat and be fair with guests regardless of my own personal opinions.
Would you rather I talk shit first and then have them on my show?
What if a child rapist wanted to speak on your show and tell his side of the story? What if Saddam wanted to go on your show and explain why Americans should all be killed?
Just because you have a show doesn't mean you have to let everyone in the world talk on it. It's your show, you are choosing to give Acacia a platform.
What if a child rapist wanted to speak on your show and tell his side of the story? What if Saddam wanted to go on your show and explain why Americans should all be killed?
Just because you have a show doesn't mean you have to let everyone in the world talk on it. It's your show, you are choosing to give Acacia a platform.
Real bad comparision.
They DO hold a patent and they CAN try to exercise their patent rights.
Will it be upheld is the question. But a rape comparision and Saddam comparision is really in bad taste.
Originally posted by D-Money oh yeah, you asked if I'll take callers.
YES!
perhaps you might be so kind as to provide a phone number? i can call in advance if you wish to screen me. maybe it would be more discreet if you emailed the number to me via: titmowse at mowsebytes dot com
They DO hold a patent and they CAN try to exercise their patent rights.
Will it be upheld is the question. But a rape comparision and Saddam comparision is really in bad taste.
It was not a comparison, it was a question.
You are acting like Acacia has some free speech right to speak on your show and you are just allowing them that right.
You would not allow certain people on your show because you think it would be harmful, right? You are admitting that your show has the power to do harm if you would not allow certain people on the show because of their views. Yet, you are encouraging Acacia to be on the show.
That's your right, but it's still a questionable decision.
Love how Net Rodent asks about "morally justify." Not even porners can get away from the concepts of objective right and wrong, which logically can only be based on a transcendent source.
Originally posted by D-Money I had my first discussion with Acacia today. My first impressions are that they really don't want to put people out of business and they're open to negotiate depending on your situation.
Parasites never want to kill their hosts because without the host the parasite dies as well. That being said do you really want negotiate with a mosquito or just swat the damned thing?
"Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats."
--H.L. Mencken
You are acting like Acacia has some free speech right to speak on your show and you are just allowing them that right.
You would not allow certain people on your show because you think it would be harmful, right? You are admitting that your show has the power to do harm if you would not allow certain people on the show because of their views. Yet, you are encouraging Acacia to be on the show.
That's your right, but it's still a questionable decision.
Mr. Fiction, I understand your point and it's a valid one. My take is about learning more which I stated when I had one side of the argument on the show.
Would I allow a child porn webmaster on the show? Hell no! That would do harm to the industry because of their views. So I can agree to an extent, certain guests can cause harm by allowing them a platform to speak. But you're taking the attitude that their patent is already invalid, which needs to go through the court system first. Until it's proved to be invalid, isn't it valid until then?
Again, my personal feelings aside, I'm just trying to help our industry through discussions. It's always best to open your mind and hear both sides of an argument before you make a decision. I feel our show was a little one sided without having Acacia on the show to defend its stance.
Parasites never want to kill their hosts because without the host the parasite dies as well. That being said do you really want negotiate with a mosquito or just swat the damned thing?
Amen.. Acacia WANTS people to kiss their asses.. it helps legitimize their extortion in some people's eyes. Instead of folding like whipped curs, people should be finding out what they can do to fight this, because Acacia's claim is shaky at best. It's about as valid as the hyperlink claim.
That being said, I'm on my way to go patent typing. You fuckers better get ready to pay up.
Keep your friends close... and your enemies closer.
Personally I look forward to an informative and entertaining show and if you don't make them squirm a bit with some hard questions, that they havent seen beforehand, D, then I'll be pissed
Should be interesting to see how firm they are in their beliefs and how they act, especially if they are coming to Miami.
Originally posted by Kimmykim Keep your friends close... and your enemies closer.
Personally I look forward to an informative and entertaining show and if you don't make them squirm a bit with some hard questions, that they havent seen beforehand, D, then I'll be pissed
Should be interesting to see how firm they are in their beliefs and how they act, especially if they are coming to Miami.
KK, love ya dear.
The reason for this thread is so that I can build up the BEST questions with everyone's input. If I don't get good questions, I'll be slammed! I feel like I'm almost being slammed without even asking the first question.
So everyone here can help me. I PROMISE to ask them. Let's create the top 10 questions to ask, weed out the one's that are opinions. If we have 100 questions, great, we'll ask.
This is in everyone's best interest to participate.
i just think like someone said, anything that gives them an ounce of credibity is bad. Its exactly what they want. They are going after adult business that will cave in hopes of giving legitimacy to their claim when they go after some mainstream companies.
I make the comparison to when cohen sued anyone with sex in their name. Just a way to extort people that dont have money to fight a vigorous defense.
And then when some people do put up a defense, they call it coercison.
These are dumbfucks that probably lost their shirt after the internet boom. I undertsand their strategy, but its going to blow up in their face eventually.
They want to turn it into a good guys vs pornographers in the court hoping to win some cases and try and make it seem legit.
Ever notice that pretty much everything added to the Constitution after the original was a mistake.
d-money - i feel what you are doing is brilliant and innovative.
if it doesn't stir controversy, it frankly isn't worth it. it will be interesting to hear acacia's point of view straight from the horse's mouth. it makes a lot of sense to do what you are doing. props nugga
Originally posted by kBizzle Instead of bashing my brother for his good intentions why don't people see the inherit value of being educated more on the subject?
Originally posted by D-Money
2 things can happen at this point. Either you can get a license, or you don't get their license. Wouldn't you want to know the effects of your decision? They're either going to win in court, or lose. What if they win? Then everyone will have to get a license and possibly pay triple for the past 6 years. That's a lot to lose. If they don't win in court, everything goes back to the way it was, no fees.
IF they win the case, which seems unlikely, I'm still not going to pay the fees. I'd rather be taken to the middle of the desert, get beaten the shit out of me and raped anally then give up my money to thieves.
Whether by lawyer or by gunpoint, I'm not going to be stolen from. FUCK EM!
How can you ever expect to conduct healthy business relationships with webmasters when the company approach so far has been so hostile? How will you ever expect to turn such negative publicity into anything beneficial for the industry?
Mr. Robert Berman is late on schedule. The company he represents picked the adult industry as the easy way to establish their retarted patent and finally hit the mainstream. At first glance it might look smart move, but if you know how this industry works and how fast moves it was the worst possible.
I look forward to the show but could you extend the length of the program?
Two hours for a D$ Special Edition?
This is a great idea, and a welcome opportunity for webmasters and others to question the Acacia representatives.
I'm betting they back out.
Thanks. I'm really into doing this to learn. The best way to learn is to listen.
I just got an email from Robert Berman, he still wants to do it but has a meeting at 1:30 on tuesday, so I'm waiting to hear from Dokk so we can get a start time locked in. If we need to go 2 hours, we will. I'm sure Dokk won't have a problem with it.
So as of now, I'm thinking about starting the show around 12:30 pm pacific time on tuesday, maybe earlier. I'm not sure what his schedule looks like, so I'll keep everyone posted as I know more.
I'm betting Acacia comes on the show, they want to be heard.
Oh yeah, I'll warn you all, get MIRC installed if you don't have it already. It's for the live chat room. Java sucks and is slow.
Also, sometimes people have buffering problems with Dokk's streams, so if you get problems, try another stream. We have 3 speeds, just click another. For most people it will be fine, but you know the Net and packet loss sometimes.
Stay tuned...
Oh yeah, now that I have your attention, we're doing a Players Pool Party at the Westin on Friday night, 7:30 pm til 10:00 pm.
Sponsored by TripleXcash & MrSkin with co-sponsors AVN Magazine and D$ Show.
Too Short performing by the pool with a DJ as well. I might have some Solid Gold dancers if all works out as planned, no confirmation yet on that.
- Since you've publicly stated that you are targeting the Adult industry because you perceive it's businesses to be 'low lying fruit', why don't you instead target the companies who have provides multiple millions of consumers with the tools to view streaming media for free rather than companies that provide content?
- Is it true that your corporate growth strategy is strongly hinged upon the success of your patent infringement case?
- Since your company is obviously financially unsound with a last reported loss of $9.7 MM in Q2 02 and weak revenues of only $438,000 for the same quarter (http://biz.yahoo.com/fin/l/a/actg.html), how much longer can you continue to operate before filing for Chapter 11 protection?
- Did you realize that you would encounter such strong resistance from the adult community? Do you have any idea who you are fucking with?
I don't think these questions need to stay secret:
1. If they are not trying to put people out of business / close people down, how come they have a minimum settlement of $1,500 for people who earn nothing. That approach is going to put a lot of good non-commercial sites out of business, and of course most of those people also cannot afford lawyers fee to contest the case.
To avoid them squirming out of this on a special case basis, I would suggest they should be ignoring web-businesses earnig less than say $2,000 / month entirely (or offering them a workable percentage deal, such as 5% profit before tax wth a minimum payment of $100), and if video is only a part of that earnings base, the minimum amount should be adjusted on a pro-rata basis.
2. What possible justification have they got for targetting a percentage of TOTAL Revenue, regardless of costs and regardless of source (eg 99% could easily be non-download related).
D, I'd like to know *why* they're going to attend the show, and in what capacity.
Will they have a booth? Will they be speaking on any roundtables? Will they simply be walking the floor to answer questions?
Also, it does not matter if your show is only for personal purposes - you are still infringing on their patent. As is anyone who has ever downloaded a compressed video (.wmv, .ram, .mov, .avi, .mpg) or song (.mp3, .wav). These patents don't just affect our industry, they also affect our personal lives. Anyone who's ever emailed a little video clip of their kids to their parents has broken this patent. That's pretty significant.
A simple viewing of any of your videos and comparison of your business cards, etc would give them a good argument that it's not for personal use, since you advertise yourself as a marketing consultant and often have sponsored spots (brought to you by...) on the fronts or backs of your video clips.
(I swear I've seen them, if there aren't any there and I'm getting it mixed up, I'm sorry.)
KB, I don't really see anyone 'bashing' D. I do see people taking him to task for his decision, and that's to be expected. He's also handling it very well - he's a big boy, you know... no need to jump in and start making accusations. You're hurting more than you're helping.
Any of these posts stating that you're giving Acacia credibility or sucking the Devil's dick are pure bullshit! Fuck all that!
This whole thing is going to play out in the courts one way or another, and your show will have no bearing to that end.
Getting Acacia's perspective will ultimately give webmasters 2 things:
1 - an education regarding what this is all about in fine detail if they don't know already.
2 - an idea of what they can further do to fight Acacia and protect themselves!
Call it extortion or whatever you want. Acacia has the patent, and they have the right to enforce it. It's THEIR business model!
It does not matter what we think is fair as an indusrty! It doesn't matter if we THINK or BELIEVE that there is prior use or prior art. All that shit needs to be PROVEN ... not to me or you - but to the courts!
Fact is, there are a very competent group of business people heading up IMPA, and they will find a way to overturn the patent if it is at all possible!
Originally posted by Carrie D, I'd like to know *why* they're going to attend the show, and in what capacity.
Will they have a booth? Will they be speaking on any roundtables? Will they simply be walking the floor to answer questions?
Also, it does not matter if your show is only for personal purposes - you are still infringing on their patent. As is anyone who has ever downloaded a compressed video (.wmv, .ram, .mov, .avi, .mpg) or song (.mp3, .wav). These patents don't just affect our industry, they also affect our personal lives. Anyone who's ever emailed a little video clip of their kids to their parents has broken this patent. That's pretty significant.
A simple viewing of any of your videos and comparison of your business cards, etc would give them a good argument that it's not for personal use, since you advertise yourself as a marketing consultant and often have sponsored spots (brought to you by...) on the fronts or backs of your video clips.
(I swear I've seen them, if there aren't any there and I'm getting it mixed up, I'm sorry.)
KB, I don't really see anyone 'bashing' D. I do see people taking him to task for his decision, and that's to be expected. He's also handling it very well - he's a big boy, you know... no need to jump in and start making accusations. You're hurting more than you're helping.
Thanks for your input Carrie. You're right, as far as I understand things. Again, this is a reason to have them on the show. Can a parent be sued for streaming a video for the family to view? I know all digital cameras come with video capability. Doesn't that encourage people to violate their patents? I know JMM said it's the process they are going after, not the players or hardware.
But my big question is, what about the hosting company? If they host that process, aren't they in violation? I can't put streams online without a host. Shouldn't the hosting networks pay a fee that covers their clients? Sort of like spam? The hosting companies get pressure if it's from their server, why is this different?
hmmmmm
Or what about a Real Player server license? Shouldn't they take the fall first? They even license something that is an infringement, according to that patent.
And yes Carrie, I can handle myself just fine. My bro always tries to defend me, which is kind of cute isn't it? Ever since I was 5 years old and a bully jumped me after I was sled riding down a small hill, KB came to save me. Fortunately I became much stronger then my brother and have fought my own battles over the years. I guess it's an older brothers instinct to defend their baby brother. LOL
I should be defending him more is the real story!
Gotta love KB. Even his haters love him deep down inside. Brad Shaw just loves to hate him, that's different.
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