Giant Trolls: Who Owns Your Home Videos?

Most coverage of the 'patent troll' issue over the past few years has followed an identifiable pattern: little company with no products, and no intention to make any products, uses some overly-broad, ill-begotten patent as a bludgeon against a company that is trying to get an innovative product to consumers. So it was with NTP, Forgent, Acacia, Scientigo, Fraunhofer, and countless others.

Today, AT&T is threatening dozens of companies over the MPEG-4 'standard', claiming ownership of one of today's most widely used digital video formats. MPEG-4 is used in Windows Media, Apple Quicktime, DivX, and most other third-party software video players. It is also implemented in countless DVD players and several PVRs.

Much like GIF, JPEG and MP3 today, the patent trolls have shown corporate America how to rake in money. The formula is simple:

1. proselytize a standard format, and encourage its widespread use,
2. wait until it becomes entrenched in consumer software and products, and only then,
3. send out letters demanding that all implementors pay royalties.

The scary thing is, corporate America is learning. When Microsoft and AT&T start playing the shakedown game with their massive portfolios, it is time to fret and worry. The time for reform which frees ideas from such restrictive private ownership is now.

See also:

• Who Owns Your Images
• Microsoft's FAT Troll