See Acacia's press release here: http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040112/125149_1.html
As you know, for the past year TopBucks/Cyberheat Inc. has been a major contributor to the fight against the Acacia lawsuit. After careful consideration of all the underlying factors, however, and evaluating the relative risks and costs of continuing to fight, vs. the costs of licensing and paying the corresponding royalties, we have decided that the best decision for the future of our business is to obtain a license from Acacia, and thereby protect ourselves from the potential consequences of coming out on the losing end of the lawsuit. In essence, the decision came down to this; if we continued the fight and lost, we could be subject to paying royalties based on gross subscription revenues dating back several years, with up to triple damages. The impact of paying such an enormous sum would be disastrous, and could potentially put TopBucks out of business, entirely.
We realize that this announcement will come as a tremendous disappointment to many in the industry, and it is with great reticence and regret that we came to this decision. Obviously, we did not simply ?roll over?; TopBucks contributed a significant amount of money to the fight against the lawsuit over the last year, and our decision is based on a risk assessment, and was also made in light of the growing number of other industry leaders who have made the decision to license, rather than participate in the ongoing litigation.
Every company and individual must come to their own decision about how to proceed, and we certainly respect and admire those that continue to fight. Our licensing with Acacia does not in any way validate their claims, obviously, and it is my personal hope that those continuing the fight prove triumphant in the end.
I?m sure that a lot of you have questions and concerns about this; I'm available at [email protected] to answer any questions you may have.
- Q.
As you know, for the past year TopBucks/Cyberheat Inc. has been a major contributor to the fight against the Acacia lawsuit. After careful consideration of all the underlying factors, however, and evaluating the relative risks and costs of continuing to fight, vs. the costs of licensing and paying the corresponding royalties, we have decided that the best decision for the future of our business is to obtain a license from Acacia, and thereby protect ourselves from the potential consequences of coming out on the losing end of the lawsuit. In essence, the decision came down to this; if we continued the fight and lost, we could be subject to paying royalties based on gross subscription revenues dating back several years, with up to triple damages. The impact of paying such an enormous sum would be disastrous, and could potentially put TopBucks out of business, entirely.
We realize that this announcement will come as a tremendous disappointment to many in the industry, and it is with great reticence and regret that we came to this decision. Obviously, we did not simply ?roll over?; TopBucks contributed a significant amount of money to the fight against the lawsuit over the last year, and our decision is based on a risk assessment, and was also made in light of the growing number of other industry leaders who have made the decision to license, rather than participate in the ongoing litigation.
Every company and individual must come to their own decision about how to proceed, and we certainly respect and admire those that continue to fight. Our licensing with Acacia does not in any way validate their claims, obviously, and it is my personal hope that those continuing the fight prove triumphant in the end.
I?m sure that a lot of you have questions and concerns about this; I'm available at [email protected] to answer any questions you may have.
- Q.
; use any of these invitation codes: 216263692101; 408636009193; 846090586647; my ICQ 30160426!
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