Adult Faces Uphill Battle to Nullify ‘Broad’ Patents

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — Despite the adult industry’s hurrahs after U.S. District Court Judge James Ware sided with the Internet companies against Acacia Technology Group in his “Markman” decisions, they still face an uphill battle.

The fact is only 614 of the nearly 7 million existing patents have been revoked, and 3,927 patents have been narrowed since the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office began conducting re-examinations in 1981.

In his “Markman” order, Ware specifically was bothered by the term “identification encoding means,” which he said is not definable and thus would invalidate some claims on one of Acacia’s patents.

A Markman order allows the judge overseeing a patent dispute to clarify some of the terms used to define the scope of a patent.

Ware called into question some of the company's video-streaming patents that the defendants, New Destiny Internet Group, has called “overly broad.”

Ware invited the defendants to seek a final decision that could invalidate some of Acacia's patent claims, which the company says cover the distribution of digital content through the Internet, cable, satellite and wireless systems.

As a result, Acacia’s stock has suffered severely, despite an impromptu conference call to investors on Tuesday to explain the situation.

Immediately following Monday’s Markman order, shares of Acacia Technologies Group plunged Tuesday, falling as much as 37 percent, with a volume of trading that was 17 times more than its daily average.

At the close of Thursday’s Nasdaq session, Acacia's stock gained slightly at $3.88 — cut almost in half from October’s per share price at $8.58 — and had a volume of more than four times its daily average.

Acacia's streaming-media patents, granted to the founders of Greenwich Information Technologies in the 1990s, weren't enforced until the Newport Beach, Calif., company bought them in 2001.

It has since secured dozens of licensing deals with some adult companies and sued the cable and satellite providers for patent infringement last month.

While a scheduled conference call among the parties next month may help determine the following legal step, more tech companies are shouting to regulators for an overhaul.

In an October report, the Federal Trade Commission recommended that changes in the patent system need to be made, including improvements for challenging patents.

Under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Commerce, the patent office has taken steps to improve the process but acknowledges the system's shortcomings, including budget constraints — nearly 3,500 trained professionals examine 200,000 patent applications every year.

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

JuicyAds Wins Trademark Infringement Case Against Fraudulent Domain

JuicyAds has won its World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) case against a website using a similar domain to impersonate the company's site and defraud customers.

Anissa Kate, Jordan Starr Top AEBN for Q2 of 2025

AEBN has published its top-selling stars for the second quarter of 2025, with Anissa Kate landing atop the leaderboard for straight theaters and Jordan Starr heading up the gay rankings.

AEBN Reveals Eva Maxim as Top Trans Star for Q2 of 2025

AEBN has published its top trans stars list for the second quarter of 2025, with Eva Maxim landing atop the leaderboard.

France Reinstates Age Verification Rule for EU Sites

France’s highest court, the Council of State, on Tuesday reinstated age verification rules for EU-based sites under the country’s Security and Regulation of the Digital Space (SREN) law, ruling in favor of the French government and against Hammy Media.

Whisper Fans Joins Pineapple Support as Supporter-Level Sponsor

Whisper Fans has joined the ranks of over 70 adult businesses and organizations committing funds and resources to Pineapple Support.

Utherverse Launches 'Red Light Center' Virtual World

Virtual reality and metaverse technology company Utherverse has launched its new virtual world, RedLightCenter.io.

European Commission Approves AV Guidelines, Unveils Prototype App

The European Commission on Monday released its final, approved guidelines for protecting minors online under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) and made public a “white label” age verification app intended to help sites and platforms comply with age verification rules under the DSA.

New Membership Site 'Sluts Corner' Launches

R18 Entertainment has launched a new membership site, SlutsCorner.com.

Show More