Written
by Brandon Shalton
7-Feb-2004 9:00am
(this article
was edited later on in the day)
8-Feb-2004
12:31am
Article
updated at bottom
Original article
titled: Acacia Showdown at the Patent Corral
At 10am PST
this morning, the Acacia Saga will begin with the start of the Markman
Hearing.
How odd that
Acacia has not released a PR about how they are looking forward
to their first days in court, but yet releases several vague and
empty PR previously.
As news from
the court room floor come in, they will be reported on this page
as a running commentary of the Acacia Saga.
Catch up on
previous articles by clicking the Articles
link at the Navbar above.
9-Feb | 10:00am
CST
All articles
covered by media being tracked on the homepage.
6-Feb | 7:36pm
CST
No news from
the courtroom. Have a great weekend.
6-Feb | 6:45pm
CST
For those cinema-challenged
like me, I didn't connect to the reference of "dip our beak".
The phrase was
used Godfather II. Here is the screenplay.
Here is the quote:
FANUCCI
(Sicilian)
Otherwise the police will come tosee you and your wife and children
will be dishonored and destitute.
Of course, if my information as to your gains is incorrect, I'll
dip
my beak just a little.
Just
a little, but no less than one hundred dollars, and don't try to
deceive me, eh paisan?
7-Feb | 9:00am
CST
Articles covering
the events in the courtroom
AVN
article
Xbiz
article
6-Feb | 4:41pm
CST
No updates from
the courtroom yet.
InternetNews.com
covering the Markman Hearing (article)
6-Feb | 10:14am
CST
National Public
Radio (NPR) covers this Acacia and patent abuse story this morning
report.
A quote from
Robert Berman (Senior Vice President Business Development and General
Counsel for Acacia Research) from the NPR interview:
"We do
believe that these patents are broad and are being widely infringed,
and our strategy is, to frankly, dip our beak and just take a little
bit of money from a lot of people and we would be perfectly satisfied."
Dip our beak?
hahahhahahahahaha
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So long,
and thanks for all the fish.
After 7 months
of trying to bring attention to patent abuse cases like Acacia,
in searching for prior art to help invalidate Acacia's DMT patent,
and chatting with so many webmasters about this issue, FightThePatent.com
and I are calling it quits for my full time involvement. The website
will continue along with posting of relevant information pertaining
to patent abuse cases in the area of audio/video.
I started this
fight 7 months ago by stopping my consulting and focusing a full
time intensive effort to contact companies and individuals via phone,
fax, and email.
Along the way,
I started the proposal of Fight The Patent Foundation and was seeking
pledges of financial support from webmasters to go towards a pledge
goal. Once that monetary goal had been reached, it would prove there
was community support to unite and fight, along with the financial
resources to fund the fight.
I was faced
with a lot of negativity on the Pledge Drive, and understandably
so, since there were and are scammers who try to take people's money.
I endured the criticisms and always stood tall, following my convictions,
honor, and integrity.
I have talked
with a couple of big mainstream companies about Fight the Patent
Foundation, and they didn't feel a need to support such an organization.
They felt they could handle patent cases on their own. I understand
their position, who am I but someone who writes satirical articles,
but who I am is someone who believes in the grassroots approach
to fighting patent abuse.
While many webmasters
pledged financial support (the pledge total was up to $37,000) and
truly supported my efforts and ideas, it just wasn't enough. Combined
with the fact that some mainstream companies didn't see the need
either, the idea folded.
Through all
of this, I have seen that despite everyone's concern about how Acacia's
patent claims affects them directly, that people aren't joining
the fight. Joining the fight doesn't mean posting "go team"
messages, it means joining the IMPA and contributing financially
to support the defendants who are paying out of their own pockets
to fight for everyone. It means companies who aren't directly affected
yet, should get involved
I do feel that
my job is done here. In the course of 7 months, I know that almost
all webmasters know about Acacia, as opposed to 7 months ago, so
little had. I know that mainstream media is now aware of Acacia
and are starting to cover the story (finally).
I feel satisfied
that I have done all that I could do to fight against Patent Abuse,
and now, it's out of my hands. I am not involved in litigation,
I am not an organization that can fight the fight. I am just an
individual who had the conviction to stand up and speak against
what is wrong by generating awareness and writing satirical articles.
I
believe that the defendants will prevail and they will be victorious
in their defense against the broad claims of Acacia's DMT patent.
They have the prior art and the attention of everyone on this issue.
My activism
will not go away. I am increasing my time with ASACP.org
as their CTO to provide the technology from my new venture at http://www.CydataServices.com
CyData will
be using technology to help track and identify child pornography
websites. ASACP will use this technology to support its charter
of stopping CP websites with its current relations with the FBI
and various government and international agencies.
Cydata will
also be involved in copyright issues by helping webmasters be 2257
compliant with their images, helping Content Producers identify
where people are stealing their images and videos, and the newest
controversy, helping to protect Sponsors/companies
from indirect-infringement of copyrighted materials when their affiliates
use unlicensed images from Content Producers on their websites.
If you don't
know what I am talking about in the last sentence, you will shortly,
and you will hear from me as someone who is helping to fight that
wrong situation.
For those that
have made it to the end of this article, I thank you for your time.
I know there are a lot of supporters and fans of my efforts. I believe
I have done my job in helping to get the Acacia issue on everyone's
radar screen. It's time for me to focus in other areas to generate
awareness, and to offer technological solutions to fighting problems,
and most importantly, to make a positive difference.
For every ending,
there is a new beginning and I hope you will follow me on my efforts
of fighting against CP and fighting against copyright infringement
that will affect you more than you realize.
-brandon
Article
update 8-Feb | 12:02pm
I have been
reading on various message boards the suggestion that I was bought
out by Acacia, working for them, or got some kind of C&D notice
from them.
The easiest
answer is "Lies, Lies, and more Lies".
Activism requires
time. Time is purchased with money. If a cause does not have money,
they run out of time.
My active efforts
were self-funded. I didn't ask money from people and I didn't take
any when it was offered (and it was). After pushing hard for 5 months
in a full time intensive effort then sliding back the last 2 months,
it was time for me to change my priorities.
I initiated
a proposal that if 1,000 - 2,000 webmasters would contribute $100
each as a one-time donation, that Fight the Patent Foundation could
be formed as a non-profit organization that could work on fighting
patent abuse with a grassroots approach.
Prior art and
expert witness testimony are key factors in defending against a
patent infringement case. Similar to BountyQuest.com (now defunct),
prizes would be awarded to those that contributed prior art. The
concept of "Pay it Forward" would motivate people to come
forward to give expert testimony in exchange for Fight the Patent
Foundation making a charitable contribution to a charity of their
choice.
Activists go
through three stages in my observations, starting at being Optimstic
that they can change the world, to Realistic, that change comes
slowly, to Jaded that people don't care about the cause because
of inactions.
Sad to admit,
but I have gone through the steps to the end as I have found that
everyone is concerned about patent abuse, but so few will do anything
about it.
I started the
pledge drive for Fight the Patent Foundation back in September,
and at that time it would have been a reactive response to patent
abuse cases like Acacia.
Now that the
prior art has been found and the court case has started, it would
be a proactive measure to start FTPF. But in my jaded experience,
people aren't very good about being proactive.
When the next
patent abuse issue comes around, you'll be sure to hear me ringing
the bells. I hope that at that time, companies will have seen the
lesson of Acacia, that you have to be reactive and proactive with
information, research, and unity.
Article
update 9-Feb | 9:18am
I haven't thrown
away my guns on patent abuse issues, i just ran out of bullets.
I am hoping
with my new venture that I will be able to buy my own bullets next
time, nice silver ones, and come back shooting.
Also, given
more time and attention to cases like Acacia, and if any other patent
licensing foe should come second, maybe webmasters will realize
that the knocking sound isn't their neighbors getting their freak
on, it's the money-grabbing-patent-wielding-trick-o-treater knocking
on your door looking to take money from you.
It does take
money to fight.. and i have been very reluctant to state that so
blatantly, but it is the sad fact. I believe a grassroots approach
is needed to unearth the prior art and get people involved.
The time will
come, i was just too early.. and like all pioneers heading west
into new territories, you get the arrows shot at you first.
FightThePatent.com
will still be up.. i will still be tracking the news.. i just can't
devote the daily hours that I put in to get people aware and motivated
to fight anymore... need to regroup, get some cash flow going, and
then I'll fund the fight myself... and hopefully be joined by more
people next time around.
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