Earlier today Personal Audio released a statement that can be read here. Our response:
On July 29, 2014, Personal Audio issued a press release in which it contends that Lotzi Digital, Inc. (“Lotzi”) is raising “unneeded” money to fund litigation. Personal Audio’s press release is misleading in a number of material respects. Unfortunately, Court orders prevent Lotzi and Adam from discussing the matter in further detail. Lotzi has incurred hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees and expenses to defend itself against Personal Audio’s meritless allegations in this lawsuit. Lotzi intends to continue to vigorously defend Personal Audio’s lawsuit and to pursue its counterclaims against Personal Audio, which include a request that the Personal Audio patent be invalidated so that Personal Audio cannot sue other podcasters for infringement of U.S. Patent 8,112,504
“Personal Audio fits the definition of a “patent troll”, or an entity formed for the basis of prosecuting patent lawsuits and licensing without manufacturing products or services.”
– The Economist
Because Patent Trolls like Personal Audio would use a victory over Carolla as leverage to extort money from every other Podcast.. As you probably know, Podcasts are inherently small, owner-operated busine
Every dollar of your donation to the Save Our Podcasts Defense Fund will go towards the legal costs of defending The Adam Carolla Show against Personal Audio’s frivolous lawsuit.
This fund will be raised on the behalf of ALL PODCASTERS AND THEIR FANS, and send a crystal clear message to all patent trolls that we WON’T BACK DOWN!
Most importantly, your contribution will ALLOW YOUR FAVORITE PODCASTS TO REMAIN IN OPERATION!
Help David Beat Goliath!
When Personal Audio filed these frivolous claims against The Adam Carolla Show, they expected Adam to roll over and pay a financial settlement. Normally, this would be the only viable course of action (besides shutting down) as defending a lawsuit of this nature costs millions of dollars.
If Personal Audio had their way, every single Podcast including ‘The Adam Carolla Show’, ‘This American Life’ and “WTF with Marc Maron” would be faced with one simple choice. Either shut down or charge listeners to keep the lights on.
When Personal Audio filed these frivolous claims, they could never have imagined that thousands of people would band together on the Internet to wage this battle.
This is a chance for your voice to be heard. If you love Podcasts, and love the freedom of the Internet, we invite you to join us at this critical moment.
Your contribution and participation are GREATLY appreciated!
Find out more ways to get involved by emailing: LegalDefense@AdamCarolla.com
Adam talks about his case with the Troll in this Senate Briefing
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Share this video by ‘Everything is a Remix’ with your friends and family who have questions about Patent Trolls and how they are affecting the growth of technology.
Special thanks to Kirby Ferguson! Make sure to check out ‘Everything Is A Remix’ and visit FixPatents.org for other ways that you can help influence a much needed change.
What exactly is Personal Audio suing you for?
The Adam Carolla Show is being sued for infringing on Personal Audio’s patent 8,112,504 “System for disseminating media content representing episodes in a serialized sequence”. Their lawsuit is claiming that podcasting itself violates the patent.
When did Podcasting start?
The earliest known ‘Internet Radio Show’ known was called ‘Geek of The Week’ recorded sometime in 1993
When did Personal Audio file for their Patent they are suing over?
Oct 2 1996
What is a ‘Patent Troll?
A Non-operating entity in the form of either a person or a company who owns or buys patents for the sole purpose of suing companies or in this case an individual they claim to be infringing on their patents. They do not undertake any usage of those patents themselves, rather their sole source of income comes from settlements they receive from threatening lawsuits and/or judgments they receive from actual lawsuits.
People get sued over patents everyday. Why should I care about this?
Patent lawsuits routinely happen between big companies like Apple and Samsung. But this suit targets people rather than corporations. Personal Audio is going after artists who want to share their ideas over the internet on a regular basis.
Why are Patent Trolls so hard to fight and why do you need so much money?
When sued by a Patent Troll, the burden of proof is actually on the defendant. The average case takes over 18 months to fight and average cost is over 2 Million Dollars when you win. Patent Infringement litigation is the most expensive form of litigation there is and why so many companies choose to settle with trolls rather than undertake the very expensive litigation necessary to fight them in court.
Drew Curtis, creator of Fark.com, is featured in the below TED talk and talks about his fight against a Patent Troll. He also talks about the negative effects that these trolls have on the economy.