Part of an ongoing strategy to expand its patent holdings, the Newport Beach, Calif.-based company has been buying up patent portfolios in a spending spree over recent months, including the $25 million acquisition of a group of companies that each own their own technology patents.
The new docking station patent, whose patent number Acacia refused to disclose at this time, was acquired by the Acacia Patent Acquisition Corp. The patented technology in question connects a laptop to "multiple external devices," such as keyboards, printers or monitors via a single connector from the laptop to the docking station, the company explained in a statement.
"The use of a single connector for multiple devices makes it easier to remove the laptop from devices when it is used remotely, and to reconnect the laptop to the devices when it is returned to the docking station," the company said.
Immediate adult industry reaction to the newly acquired patent was that Acacia was once again ramping up to exert legal enforcement over a patent that is broadly used, similar to its efforts to collect licensing payments from companies – in particular adult websites – that stream video and audio content over the Internet.
"If the patent truly is novel, unique, and with no prior art, then patent law is there to protect the innovation of the inventor," Brandon Shalton of Cydata Services and founder of FightThePatent.com told XBiz. "Acacia has proven historically with V-Chip and soon with DMT that what they say their patent means, isn't what it really says. Given their broad portfolio of new patents, they may eventually get a patent that is actually solid, but in the mean time, they continue their tactic of taxing businesses with the 'cheaper to license than it is to fight it' marketing campaign."
Representatives for Acacia were not available for comment.