LOS ANGELES — The same day Manwin announced that its Digital Playground purchase, the newly acquired property was hit with a patent infringement suit.
On Tuesday, Joao Control and Monitoring Systems fired off an infringement suit against Digital Playground over patents relating to video delivery, including transmission through live cams.
The suit alleges that Digital Playground infringes on U.S. Patent No. 6,587,046 as well as U.S. Patent No. 7,277,010.
Joao Control is no stranger to filing suits against the online adult entertainment biz. Other adult companies have been hit with identical claims by Joao Control.
GameLink, porn directory site GlobalSexMall and talking porn star doll site PlayDollsXXX last year were hit with suits claiming the same pair of patents.
And in 2009, Joao Control targeted 12 adult live-cam operators, including GameLink, over U.S. Patent No. 7,277,010.
The claims against the 12 companies were eventually dismissed and settled, with some adult companies, including one of the last remaining litigants, Playboy, signing patent license agreements with Joao Control.
The patent holding company is owned by Yonkers, N.Y., patent attorney Raymond Joao, who owns a wide variety of patents, reportedly over 100.
The Digital Playground suit seeks an injunction, damages and attorneys fees, among other claims.
Manwin officials declined to comment on the pending litigation.
Joao Control attorney Steven W. Ritcheson of Chatsworth, Calif., did not respond to XBIZ inquiries on Wednesday.
