There are adult companies that are going to go to court and fight/challenge Acacia's clams.

IMPA is heading up the effort, which is comprised of companies fighting back, as well as concerned individuals who have contributed money to help their efforts.

I haven't focused too much on SightSound.. their current lawsuit against CDnow/BMG is focused on their 2 patents for the paying of a downloaded audio file.

SightSound.com is their site, and if you notice, they sell video and music... so it may not be so far out of their scope to also try to hold a claim over downloading of video as well.

I have been focused on Acacia and USA Movie, i'll be spending time next on reviewing SightSound.

I saw a poll on AVNonline about Acacia, and well over 80% of webmasters responded that they didn't care or didn't know about the Acacia issue.

Acacia is counting on webmasters not being informed, otherwise when served with papers from them, they end up no showing up in court and receiving default judgements.

People need to be informed of the issues. Contribute where they can.

USPTO grants 7 year old kid the patent to swinging sideways on a swing!

Read up at http://www.fightthepatent.com/SwingPatent.html

A lawsuit coming to a playground near you!



Fight The Patent!

You did see that Amazon won a big one....

Oh also check this site out...

http://www.monkeybank.com/index.html

They claim they own the patent on SMS billing

The link to the patent popped up a user/password box, so i couldn't read the patent.. but my guess is that the Japanese already had SMS billing before this patent... Japanese phones (and Europe as well) have ways that you can pay for a soda from a soda machine, using your cell phone.

we are so backwards in our cellular technology.

For the record....

The IMPA is not being sued by Acacia. The IMPA is merely assisting the group of companies that are being sued by Acacia. Those companies have formed a joint defense group in order to afford a response to Acacia. The IMPA was formed to deal with issues that affect the ability to do business on the net. Acacia is only one part of a whole range of issues the IMPA intends to address.

IMO, if you read the initial documents that Acacia mailed to companies, heard the Berman interview on the D$ show, and saw what Acacia is currently saying in the current set of demand letters, then you would be thouroughly confused by what they are claiming.

With that in mind, finding a method to deliver video that does not infringe is one way to deal with them, but that is only going to work if you contact Acacia with your representation and actually get an ok that your technology does not infringe. Your attorney simply telling you that you don't infringe is not necessarily a "pass" out of this. What if Acacia does not agree with what your attorney alleges?

Ketadream, you are trying to commercially exploit this issue and you are well within your rights to that. However, I think you should first address the matter with Acacia directly since all of what you are claiming here seems pretty much based on speculation. Excellent questions are being raised and I believe Acacia would have to weigh in with their opinion on what you are saying to lend it credibility.

Let Acacia tell you that you are not infringing on their patents, then you have a real sales pitch for your flash streaming solution.

If you haven't done this already, I recommend reading all this:

http://www.homegrownvideo.com/test/legal.zip

btw... we just did a server move so some people may still be experiencing issues getting to the impa site... give it a few and it will be back for you shortly.

I wouldn't recommend doing this..... Acacia would just play Ketadream and anyone else that came to them to ask about infringement..... they would probably just dismiss you and say it doesn't validate their patent.... allow you to go out and sell the software/service, and get more websites into the firing line.

Acacia can pick and choose who they want to sue.. so they could decide not to make someone a target now, then change their mind later.

The best thing to do is to consult with an experienced IP law firm and get their interpretation based on the docs that Far-L just released to see if there is a technical loophole that has been uncovered.

My observation is that Ketadream's software/service is not a loophole and would be infringing on Acacia's INTERPRETED claims of their patents.

http://www.FightThePatent.com/Teleportation.html is a great example of what you can INTERPRET from their patent.

Fight The Patent!

Great YNOT article/interview with Rob Berman, CEO of Acacia:

http://ynotnews.ynotmasters.com/issu...403/page2.html

If you have any audio or video files on your website, and you have no idea about the Acacia patents and lawsuits, read the above article.

Yea thats playing with a double edged sword.

Ok there's more to my company that meets the eye, we are also a music and entertainment company so I am following this stuff from a few fronts...

I do think that everyone should get educated on Acacia see how it would effect your business, talk with your legal team...

Not necessarily so, there is such a thing as a Declaratory Judgement lawsuit. This is where you bring the patent holders into court yourself and force them to prove that your activity infringes. It has the advantage in that you are choosing the venue where the issue will be addressed.

Acacia can pick and choose who they want to sue, that's their right.

Let's pretend that a buddy of the CEO runs a website that has audio and video files. He can decide not to pursue patent licensing with him, but finds a small website operator that has 1 video file on their website and decides to target them.

I can see where most webmasters and companies don't do the Declaratory Judgement route, because it does mean paying for an IP attorney, going to court, and going in with the flipside of our justice system, you are guilty until proven innocent.

I think that given a very strong plantiff case (since they have lots of lawyers who have looked at things) and their specific claims of infringements, the preliminary court time may just end up deciding that further presentation and cross-examination of facts are needed, and you go to the full trial.

I have small website owners that contact me and tell me they have received the information packets, but don't know what to do. It's hard for the small guys to hire an IP attorney and take this to their local courts. I direct these people to IMPAI.org to atleast find comfort that their comrades are putting up a fight.

You missed my point.

If, for instance, Ketadream (the OP), wanted to prove that their method of video presentation on the web did not infringe the Acacia patent(s), then they could file a Declaratory Judgement suit.

What this effectively does is engage a dialog within the court system the same as if Acacia had sued them for infringement, except that Ketadream would be the the plaintiff, a much more agressive position, with the added advantage of being able to choose which district would hear the case.

Anyone willing to wait until they get "the packet" on the false hope that they'll be overlooked somehow, is still going to face the same expenses in the long run. A Declaratory Judgement filing (before that happens!) puts the case in an entirely different light within the courts. You're actually saying "I do this, so how do I infringe on your patent?" The proof of infringement then has to be made within their presentation, as opposed to you proving that you aren't infringing.

(NOTE: this is in no way to say that the patent(s) held by Acacia are valid as they are currently being attempted to be enforced.)

[edited to change an ambiguous "they" to point out exactly who I was refering to]]

I agree with your point.. my point is that going to court for a Declaratory Judgement costs money.. probably a few thousands dollars.... but the case may be more involved then a quick in/out.

If it were that easy and affordable, then everyone who received packets should file for Declaratory Judgement and then lump them together as a class action lawsuit. Since no damages an be awarded, it would be hard pressed to find an IP firm that would take the case pro-bono. So people would have to put money into a fund (ie. IMPAI.org) to have a common defense.

After some offline debating, the end conclusion that posting Prior Art searches and areas to look is a good thing to help any company trying to invalidate a patent.

The link below will be updated continually as a log of target searches. If you have contacts that match the search leads, then feel free to pass them on to me.

http://www.fightthispatent.com/v2/Searching.html


How can you help to Fight The Patent? Dig back into your memories for people or connections to people who might be able to contribute to the list of Prior Art targets

I spoke with a content producer this afternoon, and came up with a way to work around any of the patent infringement claims from the multiple companies.

Put up a screen shot of a video, and allow people to pick and choose 700meg's worth of video, have them pay for the shipping and MAIL them a burned CD.

Poor Man's P2P system.. no patents involved.

Advantages:
-Not infringing on any patents

-People who don't have broadband (lots of them out there) don't have to wait forever in downloading video files, they can order them and watch when it comes in the mail

-keeps wifes, girlfriends, and kids from finding "evidence" of p*rn on your computer, since you would hide the CD in your stash of playboys and adult DVDs

-doesn't eat up bandwidth

-additional rev opportunity to charge "handling" fees in addition to the shipping charges

-and lastly, not infringe on any patents (yes, it's here twice).



Disadvantages:

-No instant gratification

-CD could be eaten by the dog



Disclaimer:
In response to this article about Acacia filing complaint against IMPA: http://www.avn.com/index.php?Primary...ntent_ID=38368

FightThePatent.com and any of my posts have never suggested that people not pay or license Acacia's Patents. It is my belief that prior art exists, and if people are served with Information Packets, C&D letters, or court subpeonas, that they take this seriously and consult an attorney.

People can fight against all patent infringement claims by helping to find prior art. FightThePatent.com has never focused on Acacia specifically, since there are clearly 2 other companies with similar broad claims.

FightThePatent.com and the posts on message boards are all satirical in nature and has not made any claims of being an expert in subject areas like patent law nor to present itself as any kind of expert and know-it-all.

Use of my text out of the context of the post will catch on fire 5 seconds after being exposed to outside air.


word.