Does anyone worry about Acacia anymore?

Jeka · 2005-10-15, 08:58 PM

I don't care about Accacia because such a patent would never pass a lawsuit here in my country

Bill · 2005-10-15, 09:19 PM

That sounds pretty reasonable to me Jeka, and I've heard that from a few sources. If you live in a country that doesn't enforce US patents I think you are pretty much totally safe.

I've wondered if this might eventually affect hosting, tho. That is, could hosts be held liable for patent infringement if they provide unlicensed streaming video?

cd34 · 2005-10-16, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill

I've wondered if this might eventually affect hosting, tho. That is, could hosts be held liable for patent infringement if they provide unlicensed streaming video?

Basically, in my T&C I have to say that the material "you" agree to host is legal in your jurisdiction. I cannot censor your content if I disagree with it if it is legal. I can also exclude types of content that I might find objectionable. However, I cannot overstep my T&C and police content that is uploaded .

As for censorship, if I censor content that is hosted, and miss some content, I could be held liable for the content I missed.

As a hosting company I am treated with Common Carrier status as a result of these actions and inactions. I am no more liable for what is hosted than the phone company is for someone making an illegal drug purchase on a cellphone.

That's my attorney's view on it and he is willing to defend based on that view. There have been numerous cases regarding common carrier status for hosting companies and Internet Service providers.

As for the patent's validity, I don't believe it is valid. However, as I understand patent law and the appeal process, a case must be decided before the patent can be called into question. Infringment of the existing patent, valid or not, exists. After there has been one case, the PTO can look into the patent. Again, the Eolas Patent clearly defined this procedure.

Eolas held a patent for a way to do inline web applications. ActiveX and Shockwave would have violated this patent. Eolas sued Microsoft regarding ActiveX and won a judgement for $521 million for infringement. Microsoft could not challenge the validity of the patent until after the case was concluded. The PTO did overturn and nullify the patent due to Prior Art if I recall. I think the claim was that <embed> was meant for html, not applications like flash, multimedia, activeX and therefore, the patent was issued based on calling applications. The patent was filed in 1994, granted in 1998, nullified in 2004. Its not a quick process.

Bill · 2005-10-16, 03:37 PM

Well, I've been trying to decide if it's wise to work with movies again, which is what causes me to ask these questions.

I did get the Acacia letters, so I know for sure that I am on their list.

I stopped using movies in my building when the Acacia thing became serious.

The fact that no-one is saying here, "I build with movies and I'm not worried about it because..." suggest to me that people are taking a "I hope they don't get around to sueing me" attitude, and keeping their identities as secret as possible.

Altho people like Jeka, who live and work in countries that sneer at intellectual property laws, really have no significant risk, except, perhaps, for "cease and desist" letters to a host.

I'd love to hear more from US, Canadian, and UK webmasters who are building with movies.

2005-10-15, 08:58 PM	#1
Jeka My wife is not a doobie to be passed around! On our wedding day I promised to bogart her for life! Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 275	I don't care about Accacia because such a patent would never pass a lawsuit here in my country

2005-10-15, 09:19 PM	#2
Bill Selling porn allows me to stay in a constant state of Bliss - ain't that a trip! Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 3,914	That sounds pretty reasonable to me Jeka, and I've heard that from a few sources. If you live in a country that doesn't enforce US patents I think you are pretty much totally safe. I've wondered if this might eventually affect hosting, tho. That is, could hosts be held liable for patent infringement if they provide unlicensed streaming video?

2005-10-16, 03:37 PM	#4
Bill Selling porn allows me to stay in a constant state of Bliss - ain't that a trip! Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 3,914	Well, I've been trying to decide if it's wise to work with movies again, which is what causes me to ask these questions. I did get the Acacia letters, so I know for sure that I am on their list. I stopped using movies in my building when the Acacia thing became serious. The fact that no-one is saying here, "I build with movies and I'm not worried about it because..." suggest to me that people are taking a "I hope they don't get around to sueing me" attitude, and keeping their identities as secret as possible. Altho people like Jeka, who live and work in countries that sneer at intellectual property laws, really have no significant risk, except, perhaps, for "cease and desist" letters to a host. I'd love to hear more from US, Canadian, and UK webmasters who are building with movies.