Convergence between TV and the Internet is already here. Convergence of mainstream content and porn content is now here… but that’s not the dirty little secret. Mainstream players are starting to see strong revenue potential from the adult industry in areas of digital media.Convergence between TV and the Internet is already here. Convergence of mainstream content and porn content is now here… but that’s not the dirty little secret. Mainstream players are starting to see strong revenue potential from the adult industry in areas of digital media. Companies like Real Networks have gotten themselves in bed with porn companies by chasing after business deals to stream adult content.
Real Networks currently handles Playboy’s Internet streaming content. Real Networks has also shown themselves at InterNext in Las Vegas (Jan 5-7), a porn industry convention that precedes CES, by having a booth at the convention. (Interesting enough, they weren’t listed in the Exhibitors Guide.) A Real Networks product manager was on hand, hoping to convince digital media content Web sites to utilize Real’s distribution platform. He said that Real would have a PR person at CES, but couldn’t give me any information about Real’s position on Acacia’s patent claims.
I made the point to the Real representative that if one of the big three companies (Microsoft, Real, Apple) were to step into this Acacia issue by supporting the current eleven defendants, it would probably convince Webmasters to switch to that company’s technology. It’s a very strange position that the second a company uses Real Networks’ software to distribute its content the company is infringing upon the Acacia patent; shouldn’t Real step in to support its clients? Web sites that use streaming servers for digital formats like Real, Windows Media Server, Apple Quicktime, etc., are being targeted by Acacia for patent infringement. The large software companies have been unfortunately quiet in terms of any support for the current eleven porn defendants.
The adult industry is not the only target of Acacia’s licensing program. 24/7 University, an e-learning company based out of Dallas, Texas, was recently named in an Acacia press release as signing a license. 24/7 University is a Tier 2 partner of Real Networks, and when I asked the CEO of 24/7 if Real did anything to support him, he said that they did not.
There were other mainstream vendors with booths at InterNext this year, a telltale sign of the mainstream’s growing acceptance of the adult industry. Still, much of the mainstream marketplace remains wary of the stigma that can come from being associated with porn; this is probably the reason why none of the big three companies have stepped in to help the current defendants.
But the secret is out! The stigma must not be so bad if Real Networks paid money to have a booth at a porn convention. The secret is out that mainstream wants to tap into the profitability of an industry that has survived the dot-bomb era. What’s not a secret is the lack of support by the major players for companies (mainstream or adult) who use their products and are targeted by a patent claim as a result.
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