Acacia made the Washington Post - GoFuckYourself.com

Paul Markham · 12-10-2003, 09:49 PM

They are getting media attention now and that is good for us.

Patenting Air or Protecting Property?

Quote:

Universities, corporations and tens of thousands of Web site providers across the country probably never imagined they would be rooting for the pornography industry.

But millions of their dollars could be riding on a court fight between a coalition of Internet video-porn providers and a small California research firm, which early this year began enforcing the eye-opening claim that it owns the patents on how most audio and video is sent over the Internet.

Acacia Research Corp. started by targeting dozens of adult entertainment companies, demanding royalties of as much as 4 percent of their revenues from audio and video streaming. Now the firm is seeking fees from universities that use Web video for remote learning, from companies that serve up movies to hotel rooms, from cable and satellite providers, and from major streaming-media companies such as RealNetworks Inc. and America Online Inc.

"It's pretty much the sky's the limit as to where the impact might fall," said a chagrined John H. Payne, director of educational technologies at the University of Virginia's division of continuing education, which uses online video for lectures and courses. "It's like patenting air."

The Acacia case highlights why a growing chorus of corporate and government officials is warning that the U.S. patent system is broken, threatening to stunt technological innovation.

They argue that an overwhelmed U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is simply approving too many dubious and overly broad patents, especially in the software and Internet realms.

The potential result: a digital world carved up into so many pieces that it loses its power to easily link people, communities and ideas.

The country "needs to revamp not just the patent system, but the entire system of intellectual property law," said Andrew S. Grove, chairman of Intel Corp. "It needs to redefine it for an era that is the information age as compared to the industrial age."

Critics hope that the impending departure of patent office Director James E. Rogan, whose resignation for personal reasons was announced Tuesday, might lead to consideration of a new approach.

Overall, the number of patents has nearly doubled since 1990, fueled in large measure by the high-tech boom. The patent office now has a backlog of 450,000 applications pending for all types of inventions; software and Internet-related patents account for more than 15 percent of all patents granted.

In recent months, several of those patents have spawned court disputes, involving such high-profile technology as Microsoft Corp.'s Internet browser, the BlackBerry e-mail device, and eBay Inc.'s online shopping system.

Good news I think.

news.for.you · 12-10-2003, 09:53 PM

another recent article

did you notice Kathee Brewer over at AVN was in a major story on CNN.com?

http://edition.cnn.com/2003/TECH/int...porn.business/

Quote:

Kathee Brewer, technology editor of porn industry news site AVN Online, said the increase in adult Internet pages has spurred opposition from conservative groups and heightened government scrutiny. She said critics of porn sites are attempting to blur the lines between law-abiding adult content and banned obscene material.

"People can be easily led, and the mere twist of a phrase -- like substituting 'obscenity' for 'pornography' -- can have a profound effect on basically good folk who want to do the right thing but don't know exactly how to go about it," Brewer wrote recently in an essay about conservative groups that support porn-filtering software.

Instead of government intervention, Brewer urged the industry to police itself by keeping minors away from explicit content and cutting down on spam e-mail. At the same time, she said, it should be acknowledged that porn has been one of the few profitable Internet businesses from the start, employing thousands of people and generating millions in revenues for site owners, Web hosting companies and computer-hardware firms.

however article ended on sour note.

Vittorio · 12-10-2003, 09:57 PM

This is fantastic news!!

It's about time the mainstream media got ahold of this. Acacia just sunk it's own boat by going after Universities and big corportations. The fact that this article mocks Acacia's claims and discusses the overhauling of the Patent Office is just AMAZING!!!!!

Paul Markham · 12-10-2003, 10:14 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by news.for.you
another recent article

did you notice Kathee Brewer over at AVN was in a major story on CNN.com?

http://edition.cnn.com/2003/TECH/int...porn.business/

however article ended on sour note.

The problem they will have with controlling porn on the Net is what about overseas stuff. And will they risk taking it away from all those voters? The Goverment that does that will lose an election and they know it. Internet mainstream porn is safe. They will just make a lot of noise and prosecute peopleoccaisionaly to look good. Just make sure it's not you by having all the paperwork and nothing too extreme.

Rich · 12-10-2003, 10:15 PM

Quote:

It's pretty much the sky's the limit as to where the impact might fall," said a chagrined John H. Payne, director of educational technologies at the University of Virginia's division of continuing education, which uses online video for lectures and courses. "It's like patenting air."

As soon as I heard they were trying to pull this on University's I knew it was over.

xenigo · 12-10-2003, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Vittorio
This is fantastic news!!

It's about time the mainstream media got ahold of this. Acacia just sunk it's own boat by going after Universities and big corportations. The fact that this article mocks Acacia's claims and discusses the overhauling of the Patent Office is just AMAZING!!!!!

Yeah, but it's also interesting to note that they're still around. I thought 6 months ago that everyone would laugh histarically at their claims and they'd go fly a kite. The fact that they're big enough now to be going after the larger establishments is somewhat concerning.

Splash · 12-10-2003, 10:25 PM

And definitely Acacia is getting out of their realm of lasting long on their finances by taking on America Online. I hate AOL, but Time Warner-AOL has the funds to bankrupt about anyone who is dreaming up crap.

directfiesta · 12-10-2003, 10:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Splash
And definitely Acacia is getting out of their realm of lasting long on their finances by taking on America Online. I hate AOL, but Time Warner-AOL has the funds to bankrupt about anyone who is dreaming up crap.

True. but as info AOL is no longer in the Time-Warner stable.

Paul Markham · 12-10-2003, 10:59 PM

Don't forget that this problem will not go away even if Acacia do. There are other companies with similar patents watching the situation. They are not waiting for Acacia to win, they are looking to see if they make a profit from this.

They made over $27 million off the V-Chip patent until Sony and Toshiba took them to court and got it knocked down. Not bad off a patent that could not be validated.

So all the companies that signed up, THANK YOU

you showed USA Video and SightSound how they make a profit in porn. Extort it.

Acacia are just one army in a war that will not end until the US Goverment wake up and see this BS. This article will help though.

Paul Markham · 12-12-2003, 01:35 AM

How long before they make 60 minutes?

http://www.bizreport.com/article.php?art_id=5736

http://www.msnbc.com/news/1004089.asp?0cv=TA00&cp1=1

It seems they now have to work in the glare of public opinion. Screwing the porn industry will not look to bad, screwing colleges will make people sit up and take notce.

Zappu · 12-12-2003, 01:44 AM

Quote:

Screwing the porn industry will not look to bad, screwing colleges will make people sit up and take notce.

What have you expected, Paul? That the church will take care of us?

reynold · 12-12-2003, 02:41 AM

How is the lawsuit with Acacia coming along?

sexeducation · 12-12-2003, 02:43 AM

Hey - Charly ...
did your auction about a week back or so go well?

darnit · 12-12-2003, 02:52 AM

"Now the firm is seeking fees from universities that use Web video for remote learning, from companies that serve up movies to hotel rooms, from cable and satellite providers, and from major streaming-media companies such as RealNetworks Inc. and America Online Inc."

This is news to me....they are now going after Real and AOL????

is this true?

Paul Markham · 12-12-2003, 04:06 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by sexeducation
Hey - Charly ...
did your auction about a week back or so go well?

It went very well we raised $640 which has been sent to the defence fund.

We are trying to organise a permanent auction site. Got a page up at the moment but it's not working, people can't bid and we don't have a minimum price for a bid on an item.

But it's al teething problems. Need you guys to go look at the site and give us some ideas.

www.paulmarkham.com/auction

12-10-2003, 09:57 PM	#3
Vittorio Confirmed User Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 1,974	This is fantastic news!! It's about time the mainstream media got ahold of this. Acacia just sunk it's own boat by going after Universities and big corportations. The fact that this article mocks Acacia's claims and discusses the overhauling of the Patent Office is just AMAZING!!!!! __________________ 28 GIGS of Hardcore Content for $69 !!

12-10-2003, 10:59 PM	#9
Paul Markham Too old to care Industry Role: Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: On the sofa, watching TV or doing my jigsaws. Posts: 52,943	Don't forget that this problem will not go away even if Acacia do. There are other companies with similar patents watching the situation. They are not waiting for Acacia to win, they are looking to see if they make a profit from this. They made over $27 million off the V-Chip patent until Sony and Toshiba took them to court and got it knocked down. Not bad off a patent that could not be validated. So all the companies that signed up, THANK YOU you showed USA Video and SightSound how they make a profit in porn. Extort it. Acacia are just one army in a war that will not end until the US Goverment wake up and see this BS. This article will help though. __________________ Blowout deal. 880 videos, 2,400 image sets, plus many RAW videos. $500. PM me for a deal. Skype Paulmarkham70

12-12-2003, 01:35 AM	#10
Paul Markham Too old to care Industry Role: Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: On the sofa, watching TV or doing my jigsaws. Posts: 52,943	How long before they make 60 minutes? http://www.bizreport.com/article.php?art_id=5736 http://www.msnbc.com/news/1004089.asp?0cv=TA00&cp1=1 It seems they now have to work in the glare of public opinion. Screwing the porn industry will not look to bad, screwing colleges will make people sit up and take notce. __________________ Blowout deal. 880 videos, 2,400 image sets, plus many RAW videos. $500. PM me for a deal. Skype Paulmarkham70

12-10-2003, 10:25 PM	#7
Splash Registered User Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 89	And definitely Acacia is getting out of their realm of lasting long on their finances by taking on America Online. I hate AOL, but Time Warner-AOL has the funds to bankrupt about anyone who is dreaming up crap.

12-12-2003, 02:41 AM	#12
reynold Too lazy to set a custom title Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Global Traveler Posts: 51,271	How is the lawsuit with Acacia coming along?

12-12-2003, 02:43 AM	#13
sexeducation So Fucking Banned Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Calgary - Alberta - Canada Posts: 7,315	Hey - Charly ... did your auction about a week back or so go well?

12-12-2003, 02:52 AM	#14
darnit Confirmed User Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Teh Interweb Posts: 2,439	"Now the firm is seeking fees from universities that use Web video for remote learning, from companies that serve up movies to hotel rooms, from cable and satellite providers, and from major streaming-media companies such as RealNetworks Inc. and America Online Inc." This is news to me....they are now going after Real and AOL???? is this true?