Acacia Research Corp is seeking 0.75 percent of Webcasters' revenues as a licensing fee for patents the company holds that are related to the online transmission of digital music and other media. rnrn
In addition to Webcasters, Acacia chairman and CEO Paul Ryan said Acacia has plans to collect royalties from cable operators, hotels, online movie services, porn sites and video-on-demand services.rnrn
"We don't intend to disrupt anyone's business plans. We have notified both small and large companies," said Ryan.rnrn
"This is the first time in the three years of Radio Free Virgin's existence that it was clear to us that we actually were utilizing someone's rights," said Zack Zalon, general manager of Radio Free Virgin, a Webcaster that recently agreed to pay the license. rnrn
"What they're asking is very reasonable in terms of the percentage of revenues," he said.rnrn
Acacia claims its patents cover the transmission and receipt of digital audio and video programming via the Internet, cable and satellite TV, among other systems.rnrn
For a related story, click here
