Web-movie delivery pioneer Intertainer is pursuing a bold strategy to capitalize on its first-mover status in the delivery of films over the Internet. The now-defunct company had filed what’s bound to be a lengthy patent lawsuit against Apple, Google and Napster, accusing the online giants (well, two of them are giants anyway) of infringing on the company’s 2005 patent that covers the distribution of audio and video over the Internet.
That Intertainer was one of the earliest players in the web delivery of films is without dispute. In 1997, I ran a seminar on interactive TV for Paul Kagan Associates in New York where Intertainer CEO Jonathan Taplin demo’ed the prototype for his company’s service. Without a doubt, Taplin’s presentation was the break-out hit of the event, and from there Intertainer went on to build a business with great promise. (Disclosure: Taplin has been a contributor to this blog on the topic of network neutrality. See here and here and here.)
But, Hollywood’s supply of hit films to Intertainer dried up when the studios formed their own online movie consortium, Movielink. Intertainer filed an antitrust suit against the studios (settled last year), but the company tanked, shuttering its business in 2002.
Despite its early-mover status, Intertainer didn’t file for a patent until 2001 — by that time, other companies, including Real Networks and Apple, were already engaging in the same kind of activity that appears to be covered by Intertainer’s patent. Intellectual property lawsuits are among the hardest to win, something lawyers for Apple, Google and Napster surely know. But they’re also among the most expensive kind of legal complaints to defend against — something lawyers for Intertainer surely know.
The real question here is whether Apple, et. al., are willing to possibly save money by paying off Intertainer, at the risk of inviting other patent holders (and there must be hundreds of patents involving the distribution of video and audio over the Internet, right?) to file comparable suits. Google, at least, is well known for fighting mightily against lawsuits, particularly in the intellectual property arena, simply to discourage any settlement-seekers.
Cynthia Brumfield at 8:16 AM|Comments(0)
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