Acacia made the Washington Post

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

Patenting Air or Protecting Property?

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.

[Ramster]

I agree. It is good news. I mean really, how the fuck can you patent something you didn't invent that's been in use for years by a very large portion of the population throughout the world?

[Extreme John]

Just another case of the hammer meeting the nail in a certain company's sealed coffin. I love it. Fucking bullshit and they know it's bullshit.

Acacia may be finished but remember there are at least two other companies with similar patents ready to step into their shoes and try the same thing with us.

[SiMpLe]

Killer post Paul - This is good for sure, I have been waiting for this to hit the public. Now the main stream sites will catch wind which is what was need a long time ago.

[Ms Naughty]

Good news

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

In Australia, rooting = fucking
Snigger snigger, hee hee, childish giggles...

[Tommy]

ya i know i just thought about something

if I wanted to make a video or a audio file saying that I am in favor of some dumb law or some canidate or say anything at all
and run that video off my website



acacia would claim that violates their patent
and would ask for royalty fees

that violates my civil rights right to free speech

also we could go a step further
acacia could grant licences to people and company that had the same political views that they do

since people that opposed their views couldnt broadcast on the internet

that makes acacia patent a threat to free speach

Nice twist Tommy, but then politicians would have to have free ads on the TV.

[Sumrpal]

Good point Tommy

This US Patent Office needs to be straightened out. Apparently the head guy resigned this month, so maybe some new blood at the top will bring some sanity to it.

We can only hope. The only people getting rich off all this baffle-gab are the lawyers ... as usual.

|pissed|

[Special "Ed"]

Great article Paul...nice to see ya in the fight. I'll be looking at your content again soon!
Thanks,
Ed
www.cum4cash.net
www.sweetcamgirl.com

[Tommy]

Nice twist Tommy, but then politicians would have to have free ads on the TV.

in a way this is different
there are free tv channels that people can broadcast their veiws

its called public access
also there are many different channels and broadcasting companys so that gives a person many options

there are all sorts of ways to get on tv
and of course there is always the news

acacia claims rights over ALL video and audio broadcasted over the internet

there is no where else to go

[Tommy]

ya know whats funny

star fleet from star trek

would have had to pay acacia royalities

cause when captian kirk gives an order to put the planet on screen
that would be video on demand

[tiny]

My favorite paragraph haha
Intel's Grove derides such patent holders for showing little interest in producing goods with their inventions in favor of demanding licensing fees from others. "We call them trolls," he said.