Acacia Research has signed its 200th licensing deal for its controversial streaming media patent group, Digital Media Transmission, which remains under challenge from several Adult Internet companies.
They got to number 200 thanks to 12 cable television companies signing licensing agreements in the previous three weeks, Acacia said November 8. That also brings the total of cable/satellite television companies signing DMT deals to 25.
“We continue to make great progress with our DMT licensing program," said Acacia chief executive Paul Ryan, announcing the 200th deal. "What is most exciting is the accelerating growth in the use of our DMT technology. Cable TV companies are continuing the transition to receiving content in digital form, are reporting rapid adoption of video-on-demand by their subscribers, and are rolling out digital ad insertion services for targeted television advertising.”
Acacia has not disclosed the names of the newly licensing companies for now, though they might do so in the coming weeks.
The news came a month and a half after several of the Adult Internet challengers filed for summary judgment declaring the bulk of the DMT patent group invalid. That followed up a tentative Markman order handed down over the summer in which U.S. District Judge James Ware held that some claim terms in the DMT group were not definable.
New Destiny/Homegrown Video chairman Spike Goldberg and VS Media chief Greg Clayman told AVNOnline.com that Acacia reaching their 200th DMT license didn't change the questionability of the patents.
"Whether it's one, five, or 200 over the course of many a year, it doesn't change a thing about these patents," Clayman said. "If anything, I think this points to how long it takes Acacia to get anybody to buy into these questionable patents."
"It's unfortunate that they still have to use the same used car sales techniques they always do," Goldberg said, "pointing out that because other people have bought lemons you should, too."
The possibility of the DMT group being held invalid in the long run hasn't halted Acacia's licensing program. Ryan said that, added to the cable TV licensings, Acacia has over 170 licenses covering online entertainment, movies, music, news, sports, and e-learning and corporate Web media, licensings that include some of the top video-on-demand providers to the hospitality industry.
“Telephone companies have recently announced plans to deliver video to over 21 million homes via fiber-optics, and wireless companies have announced they will be offering full motion video-on-demand with the new 3G technology," Ryan said. "These new markets are creating additional opportunities to derive revenues from our DMT patent portfolio.”
