What a Halloween.
AVN Issues Statement: (from www.avn.com)
CHATSWORTH, Calif. – Darren Roberts, president of Internext Expo, issued the following statement this morning, addressing recent trepidation and speculation concerning Internext’s attendee and exhibitor database:
Over the past couple of weeks, many adult industry Webmasters have received demand letters from Acacia Media Technologies Corporation, with regard to its controversial charges of infringement of its Internet streaming patents. Some individuals suspected that Acacia was receiving its contact leads from the industry trade show Internext. This accusation was backed by these individuals indicating that the names and addresses used by Acacia were identical to those used to register for Internext.
Many trade shows, including Internext, offer “badge scanners” to their exhibitors for the purpose of simplifying the process of capturing leads. Without this process in place, it’s very difficult for exhibitors and attendees alike to maximize their presence. It is unfortunate that someone has abused this system and chosen to use the data for another purpose. However, making unfounded accusations and allowing this to create havoc is not the solution.
Internext has never and will never use its attendee or exhibitor lists for any reason other than for promoting Internext-associated events. Internext and its affiliated companies rely on the adult entertainment industry to survive and has fought many difficult battles to preserve the integrity of the adult industry, both online and off, and will continue to do so in the future.
No sooner had this statement been released than people on gofuckyourself.com, the huge webmaster resource forum started responding that they had registered but never actually been on the show floor, therefore couldnt have had their badges scanned.
Lee Noga, a highly respected web entreprenuer had this to say:
“We believe Acacia got their list from multiple sources, and the Internext attendees list was one of many surrendered, er stolen :-)))”
Mark kernes Responds to Cookie Guy:
Cookie Guy writes:
<< In the first paragraph Mr. Kernes seems to think I’m a lawyer correspondent>>
No, my point was that a lot of fans (and even a few pros) in this industry seem to THINK they’re lawyers — or at least they have the same sort of paranoid mentality as many lawyers I’ve met.
<< I can’t believe Paul Fishbein told his leviathan of letters, Mr. Kernes, to reply to my email.>>
Hmmm… that must be because he didn’t.
<< AVN just doesn’t get it, do they? A quick poll of my Internet friends and associates finds that most now think AVN has something to hide, because of how they reacted to the revelations that Acacia may have acquired their mailing list.>>
Hmmm… that must have been what the words “lawyerly” and “paranoia” referred to!
Kernes
Mark kernes responds to XXX:
XXX writes:
<< 2. It seems to me that AVN’s first and only reaction is to deny anything and everything and threaten legal action against those who even dare to
bring up its name with regard to Acacia, and will resort to bully boy tactics calling those who do liars and defamers.>>
Fer Chris’sake — Cookie Guy claimed he was “ninety-five percent” sure Acacia got his name and address from AVN/InterneXt, yet had no actual
evidence to back that up! And sadly, there are some idiots who read these websites who may put actual credence in such assumptions! That’s why AVN, to preserve its reputation, reacts to such things. If Cookie Guy and XXX don’t like it, perhaps they’ll think twice before assuming that AVN isn’t concerned enough about its reputation to respond when someone attacks it, even if in a half-hearted manner.
<< Anybody who arrives at the conclusion that Acacia’s information on them originated from AVN is lying and malicious.>>
No, simply wrong — and now, having been informed that AVN does not sell or rent its lists, to further claim that it does would be lying and/or
malicious.
<< Why didn’t Mr. Kernes or Mr. Cambria address the scanning of badges at last January’s Internext? Is it that they are embarrassed that a certain company was allowed to invade the privacy of the attendees and gather information on them from the badges? Where was AVN’s security to stop this practice? Why won’t they even allow for the possibility that’s where the leak occurred? >>
That may very well be where the “leak” occurred — but the scanning was not done by AVN, and anyone was free to stop the scanning of his/her own badge. Coding of information on convention badges has been going on for several years, and for those who want their information to be given to a particular scanner — and by extension, anyone to whom that scanner gives/sells such information — the technology is a great time-saver. Those who don’t want such information to go to a particular recipient should not allow their badges to be scanned, and those who don’t want such information to go farther than the particular recipient should do whatever they need to do to assure themselves that it doesn’t.
<< Are Mr. Kernes and Mr. Cambria, on behalf of AVN ready to respond to this quote by Kristin – “I said, “hell no, I said one company has my last name and that’s AVN for InterNext for booth consulting” – or are we going to be subjected to more threats and avoidance of the real issue at hand?>>
Well, since AVN doesn’t sell or rent its attendance lists, Acacia didn’t get Kristen’s name from AVN. What further would you or Kristen like to know from us? If Kristen allowed her badge to be scanned at the convention, that would be one possibility. That Kristen may have forgotten that she supplied her last name to someone else is another. What ISN’T a possibility is that AVN gave/sold her name to Acacia or anyone else.
Kernes
AVN has promised me an official statement, they are investigating this matter. I think that the treatment of Kristen reflects Acacias lack of any concern whatsoever for professionalism and integrity, they are simply leeches looking for a host to feed off of.
AVN Online Editor Ken Michaels Responds as Well:
Hi Mike,
I’m not going to get in the middle of the Mark Kernes/Cookie Guy exchange — they seem like smart fellows, and I’m sure they’ll work it out. And before anyone asks, I don’t have the answers as to where or how Acacia came up with the names that people say came from Internext registrations; if true, “badge scanning” seems as reasonable an explanation to me as any. But I do want to respond to a couple of things CG had to say, specifically:
“As far as I (and many others) are concerned, AVN should do some real reporting on the Acacia issues. Perhaps they could show some leadership… [P]erhaps they could do some investigative reporting (admittedly more effort than reprinting press releases) on how Acacia operates, and the story behind the dramatic rise (and slow fall) in their stock price this summer, despite posting a big loss at the end of June? What about it, Mr. Fishbein? Something? Anything? Leadership?”
Obviously, CG’s unaware that AVN Online has been doing quite a bit more than “reprinting press releases” regarding the Acacia situation and doing it since the beginning of the year. Feel free to post any or all of the links below (I included so many to make a point — I don’t really expect you to post every single one), but the November feature article specifically answers his challenge and more.
Ken Michaels
Technical Editor
AVN Online
P.S. Let me know if the links don’t work. Your e-mail needs to be HTML-enabled to see them.
November 2003:
1) Acacia’s Media Patents: The Size And Shape Of The – 200311, features
As many in the adult industry already know, a company called Acacia Media Technologies (Newport Beach, Calif.) owns a series of patents (the oldest da…
October 2003:
1) Acacia at Internext: Saying ”No” – 200310, events
INTERNEXT EXPO DAY 1 GFY Warm Up Party The College Kegger The Internext Welcome Party Traffic Management Seminar The Gay…Roundtable The VIP Martini …
3) Acacia Reaching To Affiliate Sites – 200310, newsarchive
October 24, 2003CYBERSPACE – Acacia Media Technologies may have begun reaching toward adult Internet companies affiliated with or linking to sites tha…
4) Estimate +$1 Million A Year From DMT Licenses: Aca – 200310, newsarchive
October 23, 2003NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – Acacia is estimating between $1.1 million and $1.5 million in annual revenues from licensing deals already mad…
5) FightThePatent Raising Money For Patent Battle Non – 200310, newsarchive
October 10, 2003AUSTIN, Texas – He launched FightThePatent.com in August to become an information provider and activism stirrer in the current battle …
6) Hustler, Vivid, Wicked Sign Acacia Patent Licenses – 200310, newsarchive
October 7, 2003LOS ANGELES – Hustler, Vivid Video, and Wicked Pictures have signed licensing deals with Acacia Media Technologies to stream media onli…
7) Matrix President Denies Giving Acacia Member Names – 200310, newsarchive
October 23, 2003VAN NUYS – The president of Matrix Content rejects speculation on adult Webmaster discussion boards that, when his company signed a li…
September 2003:
1) Acacia Allowed To Add Conspiracy Charges – 200309, newsarchive
IRVINE, Calif. – Acacia Media Research won another round in federal court this week. A federal judge agreed the Newport Beach firm, which claims a gro…
2) Acacia Counter-sued For Unfair Trade, Judicial Abu – 200309, newsarchive
LOS ANGELES – Lashing back at what they call Acacia Media Technologies’ “predatory and abusive” tactics in litigating its streaming media patent claim…
3) Acacia Finalizes Licenses With Two Adult Net Playe – 200309, newsarchive
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – Acacia Media Technolgies has finalized two licensing deals for its claimed streaming media patents, with New Frontier Media th…
4) Acacia Stops Waivers, Raises Royalties After Nov. – 200309, newsarchive
September 26, 2003NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – Acacia Media Technologies says November 30 will be their deadline for offering waviers for past due royalty …
5) Acacia Waiver Offer For “Past Due Royalties” Expir – 200309, newsarchive
NEW YORK – Acacia Media Technologies will not continue offering waivers for claims of past due fees or royalties over its claimed streaming media pate…
6) Web Veteran Joins Patent Suit Information Battle – 200309, newsarchive
AUSTIN, Tx. – With a small number of companies – Acacia Media Research, USA Video, SightSound – making broad patent claims of one or another kind agai…
August 2003:
2) CECash Files For Injunction Against Acacia – 200308, newsarchive
LOS ANGELES – An industry source says Trade News Corporation, which operates adult Webmaster affiliate program CECash, filed August 1 for a preliminar…
3) CECash Preliminary Injunction Against Acacia Denie – 200308, newsarchive
LOS ANGELES – Trade News Corporation (TNC) has lost one round against Acacia Media Technologies. A federal judge on August 15 rejected TNC’s bid for a…
4) David Lace Sites Closed Over Acacia Patent Claim – 200308, newsarchive
LOS ANGELES – The David Lace Productions and David Lace Theater Websites have been shut down, after they made no response to a July federal court inju…
July 2003:
1) The Rise of Civil Litigation, et al, vs. the Adult – 200307, features
Attorney Jonathan Hangartner of San Diego-based Sheppard, Mullin, Richter Indeed, litigants are coming out of the proverbial woodwork, and the Web has…
2) Anyone Streaming Video Will Hear From Us: Acacia – 200307, newsarchive
LOS ANGELES – Anyone streaming video- not just adult entertainment – will hear from Acacia Media Technologies about its streaming media patent claims,…
3) Five Injunctions, Plus A New Target For Acacia: AV – 200307, newsarchive
IRVINE, Calif. – Earlier this week Acacia Research Corp. scored a least a nominal victory when a federal judge handed down preliminary injunctions aga…
4) New Filings: Is Acacia Charging Conspiracy? – 200307, newsarchive
IRVINE, CA – Angered by adult Internet chat board comments challenging their streaming media patent claims, and perhaps riled further by the fact of s…
5) No One Pressured Us On Acacia: BestAdultContent.co – 200307, newsarchive
LAS VEGAS – Acacia Media Technologies believes the Internet Media Protection Association (IMPA) pressured at least three adult entertainment companies…
May 2003:
1) Acacia Lawsuits InspireAdult Net Interest Group – 200305, newsarchive
CHATSWORTH, Calif. – With Acacia Media Technologies suing a number of Internet operators over Digital Media Transmission patents, 15 adult companies h…
2) Acacia Wins ”Adult Language” Point, Licenses Lod – 200305, newsarchive
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – The language of adult entertainment won’t be stricken from court documents or testimony, as a number of adult Internet compani…
April 2003:
1) Prestigious Intellectual Property Guns Join Adult – 200304, newsarchive
NEW YORK – When HomegrownVideo.com decided they weren’t going to take Acacia Research’s patent-infringement litigation against adult entertainment com…
February 2003:
1) The Patent Infringement Industry – 200302, legal
So, how did you read the title to this article? An industry that infringes patents? Or, an industry that attacks infringers of patents? Therein lies t…
2) Stream This: Acacia, Net Companies at Odds Over Pa – 200302, newsarchive
Feb. 24, 2003NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – If your Internet entertainment includes time spent viewing streaming video, you could be helping to make a pile o…
3) Acacia Announces DMT Licenses, Files Patent Infrin – 200302, pressreleases
Feb. 14, 2003NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – Acacia Research Corporation (Nasdaq:ACTG)(Nasdaq:CBMX) announced today that its wholly owned subsidiary, Acacia M…
