Acacia Steps Up Content-Transfer Patent Claims

MarkRH writes "Over at ExtremeTech we've got an in-depth story on the 20-odd suits being filed against the online porn industry by Acacia Research Corp., which has been previously covered on Slashdot. Now, several online porn companies are forming an association called IMPA (the 'Internet Media Protective Association'). We sat in on conference calls held by the industry, and interviewed Acacia executives. Bottom line: the porn industry is just the beginning."

A telling quote

[EschewObfuscation]

[From the article]

"What we did before we purchased the company (Greenwich) was to spend considerable time and resources evaluating this portfolio as to whether we think these patents are valid and whether they are enforceable," Berman said. "We did several prior art searches... It was important to go to the marketplace knowing what we had was valid."
[snip]
"We're not willing to put anyone out of business; we're not looking to change anyone's behavior," Berman said. "If people feel that this is something they need to challenge in court, fine. But if they challenge this in court, 75 percent of the people will likely spend more in court fees than they'll spend in royalties to us. If they're successful, they'll recoup those fees. If they're not successful" Berman shrugged.

Really says it all, doesn't it? That's the strategy of all of these patent claims: Comapnies that can handle the fees will settle because it is easier, and possibly cheaper. Companies that cannot will either simply bow out without firing a shot, or will be outspent by the now successfully revenue generating lawsuit machine. Plus, although a company settling and agreeing to play the patent fee doesn't set a legal precedent, it has to sway the courts somewheat if the lawers can argue that N multi-million dollar corporations are paying the fees.

I for one hope the adult companies fight this one and win. If they do, perhaps people will stop buying these absurd patents solely for the revenue lawsuits can generate.

Re:It's ironic...

[JWSmythe]

Not really. It's just hard to start as a nobody and do well.. There are a lot of big companies that do very well, and lots of small companies that do pretty good. Well, if you consider a few million/year take-home satisfactory.

If you're really interested, there's a convention twice a year, where most of the big providers have booths, and lots of people, ranging from talent (read, lots of hot girls), to webmasters (anyone with a site) show up and talk business.

The convention is InterNext [internext-expo.com] The last one was in Miami a few months ago. The next one is at the "Sans Expo Center", in Las Vegas. Jan 6 - 8 . Admission for 3 days is $275 . It's well worth it if you want to try this as a business, even if you aren't producing your own content.. It's a good way to get familiar with content providers and billing companies.. Or, if you have your own girls and make your own content, bring them, and meet the people that will pay you for your content.

I'll be there. I'll be hard to spot though. I'll be the well dressed guy with a couple hot girls hanging on me the whole time.. :)

Oh, porn is a tough industry.. :) People make good money. If they didn't, people wouldn't be coming to the convention like they do. It costs a few bucks to bring a bunch of employees to Vegas, put them up in the good hotels for a few days, and all..

The people that Don't do well are the ones that put up really lame sites with a few pictures stolen from newsgroups, and expect to make a bundle.. You have to have something people want to spend money on. If you don't, they won't buy..

We've been doing video on the net since the 1970's

[Anonymous Coward]

We've been doing video on the net since the 1970's - ARPAnet based audio/video transfer has been working ever since the days when SRI drove a van up and back on US 101 near Palo Alto doing packet radio based streaming multimedia.

The patents never cited that work, perhaps because doing so would have been inconvenient.

We all can thank Bruce "I'm for sale" Lehman of the US Patent and Trademark office under whose term the idea that a patent, no matter how bad or how uncreative, wouldn't be issued to a paying "customer" was a kind of institutional anathama.

what a waste of mod points.

[twitter]

It seems the above post [slashdot.org] is redundant [slashdot.org]. Zogger said it well.

Most large US companies are already involved in porn. No, I'm not just talking about Disney purchasing small art house film makers. I'm talking about big finincail institutions such as GE Finance, GM and others having interests in porn. It does not bother them now.