Rumors have been circulating since last week that Matrix was responsible for giving Acacia Technologies personal contact information from its substantial database of adult webmasters.
The allegation is that when Matrix conceded to signing a licensing agreement with Acacia earlier this year for use of its DMT streaming technology, Matrix in turn gave Acacia access to its database.
Earlier today, Norman Bentley, president and founder of Matrix, made a post on the XBiz message boards making a plea for his innocence in the matter with Acacia.
"I would like everyone to know that Matrix did not turn over any information to Acacia," Bentley posted. "There are many allegations flying around. If it was our list that was obtained, it was done so dishonestly."
The ire among the webmaster community could not possibly have gotten any hotter, as reflected on industry message boards. But towards the end of the day, as tempers began to cool, increasing numbers of webmasters were beginning to wonder who was really behind the leak, and why Bentley would make such a bold gesture of betrayal to the community that has wholeheartedly supported his content business for years.
According to Bentley, when Matrix Content was first approached by Acacia, the patent holder demanded that they turn over its database as part of the terms of its licensing agreement. But by the time Matrix conceded to the licensing agreement months later, largely because of financial problems, Acacia had changed its terms and no longer required that Matrix's deal include access to the database.
The line was drawn between the Matrix database and Acacia when a large number of affiliates, some of whom had interacted with Matrix in the past, and some of whom had not, began receiving letters from the DMT patent holder that they were liable for patent infringement for streaming audio/video content.
In many cases, webmasters who received the letter claim that Matrix was the only common denominator between their site(s) and Acacia.
Among those webmasters who claim that the Matrix database was leaked, either deliberately or inadvertently, is Richard of LuRich Entertainment, owner of adult entertainment site findanadult.com.
Richard claims he has "actual proof" that the contact information he gave Matrix and the contact information that appeared on a letter addressed to him from Acacia were not only identical, but could not have been obtained from any other source.
To enforce his point, Richard says that he went through every single content provider and sponsor he has had dealings with in the past and reviewed what contact information he gave them.
According to Richard, in order to browse through Matrix content, the site requires that the webmaster input personal contact information. Reluctant to do so, Richard says that he specifically used typos in the address he gave Matrix.
"I wouldn't use a typo like that anywhere else," Richard told XBiz. "Nobody uses a fake address on a sponsor sign-up and risks not getting a check. I just did it because I wanted to check out their site, but I wasn't sure I wanted to do business."
Shortly after, Richard received a letter from Acacia with the exact same typos that he had input into the Matrix database. Additionally, Richard did not put his company name in the Matrix database and it did not show up on the Acacia letter either.
But according to Bentley, his company never willingly released the contents of the Matrix database and that such an act would have been unconscionable.
"I'm a man of my word," Bentley told XBiz. "Why on earth would I have done such a thing? It's not like we're making tons of money as it is. We need the business that we have. I would never, ever do such a thing to this community. It's ridiculous."
Bentley told XBiz that he can count on one hand who might be responsible for releasing the list to Acacia, if such a thing did in fact happen, although he would not name any suspects for fear of incriminating someone who might be innocent.
"I'm not pointing any fingers," said Bentley. "I don't want to be irresponsible in that way, and until I find out who for sure, I will eat shit. I am an honorable person and I won't throw someone under the bus until I have concrete proof."
Bentley also points to hackers as the possible culprit.
"I'm not naïve in believing we're not impregnable," Bentley told XBiz. "Anyone with any knowledge of network security knows it would be possible, and for the hacker to cover their tracks is certainly not impossible. But right now we have no concrete proof of how it happened."
Bentley told XBiz that his company is actively seeking the source of the webmaster contact information leak and that if Matrix discovers that either Acacia, or someone else, harvested contact information from its database, then they will prosecute for the misuse of confidential information.
Bentley, who spent a portion of the afternoon meeting with lawyers, believes that whoever is behind the database leak will be revealed during the discovery process of the investigation.
Members of the adult industry are also suggesting that whoever is consulting with Acacia, or passed along the contact data, is deliberately trying to create conflict within the adult webmaster community.
Bentley was among a group of webmasters who filed a counter claim against Acacia earlier this year, challenging the validity of its patents. The defense group is represented by patent firm of Fish & Richardson, and an association was formed to back the defense group called the Internet Media Protective Association (IMPA), which Bentley continues to support.
Bentley added that if anyone in the adult community can offer concrete proof that their name and address, as it was input into the Matrix database, was later used as a contact source for Acacia, to please call the Matrix office.
"This isn't going to stop us," Bentley told XBiz. "At least we know who our friends are and they trust our integrity and honor in this business."
When contacted by XBiz, Robert Berman, a representative for Acacia, would not give comment.
