Second Acacia Hearing On Friday

SANTA ANA, Calif. – The second Markman Hearing will be held tomorrow, April 9, at the Ronald Reagan Federal Building as the adult industry defense group goes up against Acacia Technology Group over the wording of a handful of Digital Media Technologies (DMT) patents that relate to streaming audio and video over the Internet.

The hearing will be overseen by the Honorable Judge James Ware, a U.S. District Court Judge for the Northern District of California, and will commence at 10 am.

The first Markman Hearing took place on Feb. 6 and began what promises to be a very long process of reviewing the meaning of each of Acacia's primary DMT patents.

The first hearing was scheduled to review four different claims within Acacia's U.S. patent collection but managed to only cover one claim over the course of four hours. Typically eight or more terms define each patent and an individual patent can theoretically include any number of claims, each being a 'separate invention.'

According to a patent attorney who attended the first hearing, Acacia's five U.S. patents consist of an estimated 121 claims. The company currently holds 36 patents worldwide.

There is some speculation from those close to the case that the process of examining the patents could take Judge Ware through the end of the summer to complete the first part of the hearing. In some cases, Markman Hearings can last as few as 3-4 days, a source told XBiz.

The adult industry defense group currently represents 13 adult industry defendants, including New Destiny Homegrown, Video Secrets, Club Jenna, CyberTrend, Cybernet Ventures, Global AVS (ProAdult), Lightspeed, ARS, Gamelink, Ademia, AEBN, Audio Communications, and National A-1.

Friday's hearing will be followed by three consecutive hearings in May. Dates will be announced as soon as Judge Ware, the plaintiffs and the defendants agree on a time.

Copyright © 2024 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

Age Verification: FSC's Mike Stabile Reports from the Frontlines

Two years into the religiously-inspired crusade to ban free access to adult material in the U.S. through carefully drafted "age verification" legislation, the constant onslaught of state-by-state proposals and laws — many of them copied from each other — can be hard to follow.

Written Erotica Platform 'Hevvn' Launches

Hevvn, a new platform aimed at erotica writers seeking to publish, promote and profit from their work, debuted Thursday.

Sssh.com's Angie Rowntree Speaks at Brown University

Sssh.com founder Angie Rowntree spoke at a Brown University class last week, discussing several topics related to adult filmmaking.

Online Industry Veteran Joe E. Passes Away

Online industry veteran Joe E has passed away, according to friends and industry associates.

Judge Acquits Backpage Defendants of Most Charges Before 2nd Retrial

A federal judge acquitted former co-owner of Backpage.com Michael Lacey and two co-defendants on most of the counts remaining from the protracted trial launched against the website operators by the Justice Department in 2018.

Adult Time Partners With Animation Studio 3DGspot

Adult Time has signed a deal to distribute content on its streaming platform from animation studio 3DGspot.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp Signs Age Verification Bill Into Law

Republican Gov. Brian Kemp this week signed into law a bill that includes provisions requiring age verification for viewing adult content in Georgia, mirroring legislation being sponsored around the country by anti-porn religious conservative activists.

AEBN Publishes Popular Searches by Country for February, March

AEBN has released the popular searches from its straight and gay theaters in more than three dozen countries during February and March.

HardWerk Relaunches Through YourPaysitePartner

HardWerk.com has relaunched through YourPaysitePartner (YPP).

Aylo Asks Judge to Trim Sweeping GDP-Related Lawsuit

Aylo asked a California federal judge during a hearing on Monday to drop trafficking claims from a sweeping lawsuit brought by a former GirlsDoPorn model.

Show More