Patent trolls threaten virtual reality pornography and distance sex services


    A screenshot from the page of one of the commercial virtual reality services that Virtual Immersion Technologies LLC cites as an example of violation of US patent No. 6,409,599

    In the past few years, everyone around has been talking about virtual pornography. How cool it will be. Virtual reality technologies are becoming better and cheaper, so a real boom is expected in this area. A tremendous business opportunity for many startups and entrepreneurs in countries where pornography is not prohibited. Russia is not among these countries. Here, only the consumption of such content is allowed, but not its production or the development of appropriate software applications.

    Nevertheless, even from the point of view of passive consumers of VR pornography and distance sex services, it is interesting to see what problems the western porn industry is having, which is preparing to introduce virtual reality technologies. There are problems. Surprisingly, patent trolls even got here.

    In September 2016, the first real patent lawsuit in the field of virtual pornography became known . He was filed by the Virtual Immersion Technologies LLC patent troll. Apparently, the company is specially formed for litigation with industry operators and extorting money for a specific patent, as is done in other areas of IT.

    Claimant Claims Intellectual Property Rights for Virtual Pornography Technology Based on OwnershipU.S. Patent No. 6,409,599 .

    The patent is called the “Interactive Virtual Reality Performance Theater Entertainment System”. It was announced July 17, 2000 (priority date July 19, 1999). The patent was granted on May 6, 2002 to Ham On Rye Technologies and specifically to the inventors Randy T. Sprout, Susan M. Sprout, who actually developed an entertaining interactive virtual reality system in the early 2000s. True, she had nothing to do with pornography or the Internet.


    "Interactive virtual reality theater entertainment system", US patent No. 6,409,599

    In December 2015, the patent was sold to 3D Immersive Interactive Insights, and on August 16, 2016 to Virtual Immersion Technologies LLC, which recently filed a series of lawsuits against patent infringers.

    A patent describes an immersive virtual reality system in which a living actor or actress (performer) interacts with one or more participants in a performance. According to the description, the system provides for live video broadcasting or broadcasting of pre-recorded video clips, presents tools for the actress (performer) and the participant to partially control the performance.

    The patent is not limited to VR pornography. Patent trolls can cash in other virtual reality applications. But they are only interested in areas where they can benefit. The promising industry of virtual pornography and television dildonics with multi-million dollar turnover just meets their criteria for extorting license fees for using a patent.

    Already, Virtual Immersion Technologies LLC has filed several lawsuits (of course, in the court of the Eastern District of Texas). One of the lawsuitsfiled against the British company TxtMe TV Ltd., which conducts business in the United States. In particular, it sells equipment for the provision of services that have the set of characteristics listed in the patent. The following pages are given as examples of the use of such equipment and the provision of such services in a lawsuit:

    Pages
    https://peep360.net/iframe2/9eb0d9b44f6e3762b9959900a6de2012/?id=&glass=HOMiDO,
    http://www.virtualporn360.com/vr-cam-girls/,
    http://www.virtualporn360.com/devices/strap-onyour-teledildonic-and-fuck-your-favorite-vr-porn-star1/,
    https://virtualrealityreporter.com/virtual-porn-360-launches-360-degree-vr-cam-live-streaming/.

    These pages offer interactive entertainment services in virtual reality, when a client in a virtual reality helmet watches the actress and can control her actions. That is, this is a kind of interactive theater performance with elements of eroticism.

    The second victim of the patent troll is Secure Live Media LLC, which is accused of violating the same patent No. 6,409,599. This company provides hardware and software for teledildonics, that is, sex in virtual reality (distance sex). In this case, tactile sensors are installed on the genitals of the participant in the performance and the actress, or two participants in the performance. The following pages are examples of violations:

    Pages
    https://www.camsoda.com/virtualreality,
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDpxCm2rj5E,
    https://www.camsoda.com/vr-teledildonics,
    http://wiki.camsoda.com/index.php?title=Virtual_Reality.

    The patent troll claims to be collaborating with true inventors Randy and Susan Sprut to help identify specific patent infringers. Apparently, the plaintiff has a good chance of winning this trial. The judge may prohibit the defendant from using the virtual reality technology described in the patent in the United States and make it necessary to compensate the copyright holder for the damage suffered. Alternatively, the parties agree on technology licensing.

    Lawyers fear that as the VR pornography industry grows older, its young representatives will gain more and more attention from patent trolls and become objects of harassment. An increase in the number of patent applications for various fields of VR-pornography, specific technologies and innovative genres of pornography, as well as an increase in the number of patent claims are expected. Lawyers really believe that many aspects of VR can be patented. Companies themselves working in this field are not fully aware of the magnitude of the threat and the consequences of mass patents for all aspects and applications of the technology.


    “Save the kidnapped goddesses” is one of the levels in the crowdfunding porn game “Girls of Arcadia”

    Some industry participants have already realized where the wind blows. For example, the developers of the crowdfunding virtual reality game “ Girls of Arcadia ” immediately after the appearance of information about lawsuits cleared the page on the Indiegogo website, removing any references to the game controller VirtuaDolls Game Controller . This dildo controller potentially infringes the Virtual Immersion Technologies patent, allowing sex with virtual characters.

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