Another Hotspot Redirect Patent Collection Attempt

Glenn Fleishman writes "Acacia Technologies is turning its sights from collecting streaming media patent fees to Wi-Fi hotspot gateway redirection, we report at Wi-Fi Networking News. The company acquired a patent that they say covers the use of technology that redirects a login attempt by an unauthenticated user to a login gateway page. They want a minimum of $1,000 per quarter in royalties. Nomadix already claims a patent on this, while we quote an early Wayport executive who says that Wayport has prior art on it. Will community hotspots using NoCatAuth fall under this patent-enforcement attempt? Too early to tell."

Comments

Re:Wow...Just wow.

[powerpuffgirls]

Maybe Microsoft will patent its Blue Screen Of Death interface, so nobody else can display an error on screen without a license. I'm sure MS has prior art to that :)

Re:Maybe this isn't so bad

[sploo22]

How so? I don't see why having to register to access a free hotspot is so horrible. If you have to provide a valid email address, it provides at least a minimum amount of accountability in case the service is abused. And it really doesn't cost you any more than 5 minutes.

I think this is just another example of people feeling entitled to the unlimited charity of others.

Suing is a new business model

[erick99]

This guy must be a ton of fun at children's parties....

We have $30 million in the bank and we have the resources to enforce the patent as necessary," Berman said.

"Those who license earlier on get the best deals," Berman said.

"The user has recurring revenue, the manufacturer is a one-time sale," said Berman. (cacia chose to approach operators that use products that do redirect rather than offering licenses to manufacturers because it can potentially earn more money from operators.)

It's all perfectly legal. And it is so much easier to buy patents and sue people than to take, oh, say, $30,000,000 and innovate.

Protection racket under a new name?

[erick99]

Especially when you get two packets in the mail from two companies, both claiming to own this "redirect" patent. What do you do? I can't see people writing two checks. Acacia Technologies and Nomadix are both going to take everyone to court? This reminds me of the protection rackets from the early 1900's - you could end up paying multiple parties. In this case, the protection money/royalties, keep you out of court.