Streaming Patent Claims Thicken as Playboy Licenses Technology

Posted by Fraser Lovatt on 16 March 2004 at 11:54 am | Tagged as: Business, Legal

Acacia Media Technologies Group, part of Acacia Research Corporation, has found a new licensee for it patent claim on transmitting media over the web: Playboy.com.

Acacia acquires patents based on broad definitions – and then pursues companies using technologies in similar areas. The company claims to own the patents relating to transmitting compressed video and audio online – a fairly basic component of the internet these days. Acacia don’t actually provide a product for streaming media, or a service – they just claim the patent and will license the right to you.

Playboy.com have been granted the 118th license to use streaming technology – analysts estimate that Acacia are looking to take about 1 or 2% of the income that licensees make from streaming.

The company had recently started action on 39 “adult entertainment” sites, and it seems these businesses seem to be their preferred targets rather than, say, Micorsoft, RealNetworks or Apple. Their reasoning is that content providers have billing systems in place with consumers and so it’s an easier revenue stream to tap into.

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