November 30, 2004 4:13 PM PST

Wi-Fi Acacia's next patent target

By Paul Festa
Staff Writer, CNET News

Related Stories

Patent suits hit cable, satellite giants

 June 15, 2004

Year in review: Patent smack-down

 December 25, 2003

Patent politics

 September 25, 2003

Patent holder unplugs porn network

 September 23, 2003

Patent scare hits streaming industry

 February 6, 2003
A patent warehouse that has exerted a toll on Internet streaming media is setting its sights on wireless hot spots.

The software patent ambitions of Acacia Research are well-known to the streaming media industry. Acacia initially targeted Web pornographers, shutting down sites that neglected to pay its licensing fees, but since then has exacted license fees from a broad array of cable, satellite and Web content companies that now number 264 and include Walt Disney.

"We just signed 85 cable agreements with small to midsized companies," said Rob Berman, executive vice president and general counsel for the Newport Beach, Calif.-based company. "We're always looking to purchase new patents and are considering several right now in a number of areas, not necessarily just the Internet."

Acacia calls itself a "resource for inventors and medium-sized companies" that buys their intellectual property, grants them a license to use it, and pays them a percentage of licensing proceeds.

Acacia's latest target centers on its patent describing how wireless networks present unidentified computer users with Web pages that redirect them to log-in or subscription pages. Hotels, airports and other areas with Wi-Fi hot spots typically use such redirection schemes.

Acacia's patent, No. 6,226,677, was originally granted in May 2001 to LodgeNet Entertainment, a Sioux Falls, S.D., information technology company targeting hotels. Acacia purchased the patent in July.

Berman said Acacia launched its Wi-Fi licensing campaign in September and is in advanced licensing discussions with a number of potential licensees. No Wi-Fi licenses have been signed yet.

Acacia has brought its streaming patents to bear not only against Web content companies but also against cable industry giants and smaller companies, alleging that video-on-demand services require an Acacia license.

Despite Acacia's success in winning hundreds of licenses for its streaming patents, several companies have resisted and are facing court cases around the country. Acacia has tried to consolidate for discovery a number of cases pending in U.S district courts for Arizona, Minnesota, the Northern District of Ohio, and the Northern and Central Districts of California.

ie8 fix

What's Hot

Discussions

Shared

RSS Feeds

Add headlines from CNET News to your homepage or feedreader.

ie8 fix
  • Recently Viewed Products
  • My Lists
  • My Software Updates
  • Promo
  • Log In | Join CNET