Here's a quick summary:
Defense Fund:
IMPA has pulled together the current defendants to share a common pool of money to pay for attorney expenses. The buy-in is a few thousand a month. Since there are like 7 (?) defendants, each one gets a chance at bat. The money put in goes towards dealing with your individual correspondance with Acacia and the Defense Team, as well as money to fund the first people's whack at bat. Should the first batter strike out, there is a second batter, and so on. I feel that the Defense Team has a solid case against the patent claims. People like me and all the great volunteer searches are still looking, there is always a need for that gold nugget in the pile of rubble.
If you have been served with the last notice... you have the following choices:
1) hide out (especially if they addressed you to a PO box, or some odd mailing address that clearly shows they didn't do their research)
2) pay the license - you have until Nov. 30th.. plenty of time to see what happens in the next couple of weeks, time to save up money, etc.
3) contribute a few thousand a month to the Defense Fund. If you make over 100K per year, your minimum license fee is $6,000 due up front, with additional percentages, etc. Pay a few thousand a month into the Defense Fund to get yourself covered by the Defense Team attornies as well as helping to fund the peope who are already ahead of you.
Contact: spike -at- homegrownvideo.com
IMPA:
IMPA is an association that is a watchdog for all kinds of issues that pertain to webmasters. Currently, IMPA is focused on patents, best practices (COPA, 2257), and the trademarking of the term "virtual sex".
IMPA has a membership fee (
http://www.impai.org/join.html)..most would fit in at the $100/year. IMPA membership money goes towards hiring attornies and funding activities to spotlight and target issues that affect webmasters.
Fight The Patent Foundation ("FTPF"):
FTPF will be a non-profit (501c3) organization that focuses only on patents. It will operate like the ACLU, to provide companies faced with a patent abuse claim with defense attorneys, as well as expert witnesses and prior art. FTPF's charter is to use the 'pay it forward' concept to motiviate expert witnesses to come forward to provide testimony, critical to support the prior art finds. FTPF will also use a grassroots approach to finding prior art by opening up a system where people can submit prior art leads, and get rated on their finds to earn rewards.
FTPF is currently looking for 2,500 webmasters to pledge $100 each. No money is collected until the pledge total reaches over $250,000.
More info at
http://www.FightThePatent.com/go
Acacia is just the first company to be wield patents to the adult industry. There are many more companies with audio/video patents, as well as other patents that will affect this industry. Patent holders with Acacia-like business plans could come from WITHIN the industry.
This is the new business model that some feel is a great way to make money, without ever making a product, without delivering a service, and without developing a company.
The big players have settled....proving that there is no community? I would disagree...and I hope that the rest of the webmasters who haven't settled can band together to show community.
If you have money and want to fight, i suggest donating to the Defense Fund so you can get yourself legal protection.
For others with not as deep pockets, join IMPA and pledge to FTPF. It's a small contribution, but one that becomes a bigger movement when your fellow webmasters join in as well.
-brandon
Fight the Patent!