Look at http://avnonline.com

Ron, so now you are suing Acacia for not living up to confidentiality agreement? The cynic in me thinks this all could be orchestrated. Damage control.

Brad I'm not suing anyone. I don't own TradeNews Corp and have never signed a license.

Now THAT is a total fucking JOKE! Most companies which develop software recognize the importance of education and will usually offer licenses to educational institutions at drastically lower rates. A lot of times it's free for universities.

I'd be interested in knowing how much Acacia is asking from Universities. Most of them are subsidized by the states.

Can these fuckers be any more GREEDY?

Every thime I open an Acacia thread my blood pressure goes through the roof!

Since Que? already patented crapping, I'll patent explosive diarrhea... I'll be fair and not come after you for patent infringement only if you spray that shit at acacia...

But seriously, I think it's stupid they are going after people even if they are offering video compressed in zip files. Zipped files are not video. It can't be played in any kind of player until it is extracted from the zip. Maybe I should offer videos compressed in a zip and then turn it into a self-extracting executable. What are they going to do now? Come after me for offering .exe files?

Ron I understand you no longer own, but you appear to still run the show from an outsiders perspective.

They are attemping to sue Canadian companies.......which is basically a scare tactic.......

Cuz they "have no patent here".

Do you need a lawyer to post links to both sides of the issue?
I don't see any changes to the site yet.
IMPAI.org

Actually, it dont have to be only the internet.
I dont know when they were first used, but video phones have been around a long time. they transmit video through a phone line, as per the patent claim of Acacia

Here's a question that came to mind just now:

<B>Is IMPA merely a front for some group opposing the Acacia patent(s)?</B>

The reason I ask this is that there seems to be a (rarely challanged) belief that this is so. The title of this thread even subtly implies it. However, looking at http://www.avn.com/articles/11795.html, I encounter this warning paragraph (emphasis added):

"DMT isn't the only technology by which Acacia has stepped toward what its critics call "profit by litigation." The company also acquired the V-Chip technology when it bought out SoundView Technologies. Almost immediately, Acacia launched similar patent-infringement claims involving the V-Chip, according to the Orange County Register. Those claims led to more than a dozen television manufacturers paying the one-time licensing fee, filling Acacia?s coffers with some $24.1 million in 2001 revenues, the Register said - a whopping jump from $100,000 in revenue the year before. Other television manufacturers went to court - and Acacia lost. The Register said in December that <I>the company is working an antitrust case claiming the winning manufacturers "colluded" to duck V-Chip licensing fees.</I>"

In other words, this pack of lawyers called Acacia has a bad habit of going after those that have successfully won the first round. I certainly wouldn't want to see the good people involved in this fight set themselves up for a needlessly protracted battle...

50

Acacia has filed patents in other countries as well, so it's not just a US-specific attack.

Any downloading of video from a web server is infringement on their supposed patent. This is not limited to streaming video. Sounds ridiculous? It is, but that's what they have INTERPRETED.

The patent does not specifically say the downloading or streaming of audio/video from a web server, they have broadly extended their patent to this area and will get the test of their BELIEF in court.

Helping to find prior art is the way to help (other than giving money). Feel free to email prior art leads to me (in addition to IMPA), as I can help to weed through what i think might be good leads.

Posting prior art leads to this message board is not a good idea.

Please read my article on Prior Art and Helping out on my website for more info. FightThePatent.com is an independent website started by me, funded by me, with nothing to gain in this except trying to do what is right.

Acacia is not just targeting the adult industry.

I have one record of them sending their "licensing package" to East Michigan University for the infringement of their patents in distance learning.

I believe their approach, is that if you are making $$$ from the service of downloading/streaming audio/video, then you need to pay licenses.

so they put the double whammy on, by targeting you and the host that does the actual streaming.

i agree with you, you would think the big boys (ie MS, Real, etc) would jump in, since they have even more to lose....

if i pretend to be one of the big boys attorneys, i'd probably advise them to sit back, watch what happens, let those porn website fight it out, and once the smoke clears, we'll see where thing stand.

So IMPA and the companies that are fighting the patent claims are doing a great service to ALL websites that have audio/video, not limited to just Adult Industry.

So all those articles that you may read where the headlines read about "porn industry being sued for patent violations" must totally be ignorant...

Downloading a video clip from an adult site is exactly the same as downloading a video clip from CNN. Everyone should be spooked about this, but not enough people understand the ramifications.

So spread the word, point people to my website to help bring awareness.

You won't need to find prior art involving streaming video, just prior art of DOWNLOADING of audio/video from a server that has a player component on the PC that would play it.

It's a very general summary, but one that should help focus people's search.

When a content supplier sells you content, you buy the right to use that content. Apparently the right to use the technology to stream the content may involve a second purchase. I think Acacia's claim is so vague as to be bullshit and I wish some of the BIG money corporations in more mainstream industries would wake up and start fighting this. What we will lose is peanuts compared to what other industries and institutions will have to pay if the patent isn't successfully challenged.

One idea: since they want to base their fee on gross profits, form a little corporation that will host the clips for you and simply make sure it doesn't make a profit. That's what a good accountant is for. Of course, maybe that won't work. That's what a good attorney is for. :1orglaugh

What about wishing that some BIG money corporations in the Adult Industry who have the bucks and are in the leadership position to fight the patent abuse claims?

I'm sorry, some are licensing Acacia's patents. Next wish...

So who's fighting them? Companies like Home Grown Video and several others who are paying mucho $$$ to attorneys to defend theirs and EVERYONE's right to use audio or video files.


Fight The Patent!

I have heard that Acacia's licensing is 2% of GROSS or $1,500/year, whichever is greater.

So you could form a shell of a company, and still have to pay some money...then, their attornies would see that it was a shell and follow the money trail.



Fight The Patent!

:glugglug