By Murgesh Navar
After reading many of the reactions to our patent announcement yesterday, I want to clarify our plans and implications as it relates to the patent.
First, it is important to note that companies routinely apply for and receive technology patents. As it takes many years to obtain a patent, it is also quite typical for the methods described by the patent to have become relatively commonplace by the time the patent issues. VoloMedia's situation is no exception.
Second, it is well known that, sometimes, patents end up in the hands of entities that have neither products nor technologies, but just obtain and hold patents to pursue infringing behavior through litigation. VoloMedia is not one of these. We are a real business, a founding member of the ADM, and an engaged participant in the episodic media download ecosystem with marquee publisher customers such as ABC News, MSNBC, Fox News, Washington Post and PRI, to name a few.
We also have a great deal of appreciation for the efforts of podcasters in setting the early trend towards RSS-based episodic downloads. However, from our vantage point, downloaded and portable media are currently not on par with web browser-delivered media. Portable media is still too cumbersome for the consumer, and really difficult for publishers to measure and monetize when compared to web browser-delivered media. As many of you may be aware, VoloMedia has been working hard to address these challenges, using, for example, its unique iTunes plug-in to provide anonymous statistical sampling of the consumption of RSS-based media in iTunes media player, iPods and iPhones via Google Analytics. Podcasters can freely use this technology without becoming VoloMedia customers, and build their own Nielsen like panel audiences. This is completely free to podcasters and no commercial relationship, or even a registration, with VoloMedia is required.
Now, coming more specifically to VoloMedia's motivation: The episodic media download "technology" ecosystem needs to become more seamless, more standardized, and more interconnected before it can become a mass medium. There are a few ways such seamlessness can be achieved: (1) A standards body is created with all the constituent technology providers (e.g., directories, media players, devices, analytics, advertising, etc.) participating and agreeing to common standards, (2) a large company with a lot of market influence and momentum creates a de facto standard, and everyone else follows or (3) a company uses its intellectual property to help drive a standard, using its IP to help define and improve the ecosystem for the benefit of all participants. VoloMedia's motivations are primarily driven by the desire and need to make the episodic download ecosystem work, so consumers have a real choice in how they consume any media that is available on the Internet - whether in a web browser at an aggregation site like Hulu, or on a downloaded and portable basis using Apple's iTunes and iPhone or Microsoft's Zune. We will use our products, technologies, and patents towards this goal.
We are intent on helping accelerate the growth and viability of downloadable, episodic media - much of its potential lies in the future.
After reading many of the reactions to our patent announcement yesterday, I want to clarify our plans and implications as it relates to the patent.
First, it is important to note that companies routinely apply for and receive technology patents. As it takes many years to obtain a patent, it is also quite typical for the methods described by the patent to have become relatively commonplace by the time the patent issues. VoloMedia's situation is no exception.
Second, it is well known that, sometimes, patents end up in the hands of entities that have neither products nor technologies, but just obtain and hold patents to pursue infringing behavior through litigation. VoloMedia is not one of these. We are a real business, a founding member of the ADM, and an engaged participant in the episodic media download ecosystem with marquee publisher customers such as ABC News, MSNBC, Fox News, Washington Post and PRI, to name a few.
We also have a great deal of appreciation for the efforts of podcasters in setting the early trend towards RSS-based episodic downloads. However, from our vantage point, downloaded and portable media are currently not on par with web browser-delivered media. Portable media is still too cumbersome for the consumer, and really difficult for publishers to measure and monetize when compared to web browser-delivered media. As many of you may be aware, VoloMedia has been working hard to address these challenges, using, for example, its unique iTunes plug-in to provide anonymous statistical sampling of the consumption of RSS-based media in iTunes media player, iPods and iPhones via Google Analytics. Podcasters can freely use this technology without becoming VoloMedia customers, and build their own Nielsen like panel audiences. This is completely free to podcasters and no commercial relationship, or even a registration, with VoloMedia is required.
Now, coming more specifically to VoloMedia's motivation: The episodic media download "technology" ecosystem needs to become more seamless, more standardized, and more interconnected before it can become a mass medium. There are a few ways such seamlessness can be achieved: (1) A standards body is created with all the constituent technology providers (e.g., directories, media players, devices, analytics, advertising, etc.) participating and agreeing to common standards, (2) a large company with a lot of market influence and momentum creates a de facto standard, and everyone else follows or (3) a company uses its intellectual property to help drive a standard, using its IP to help define and improve the ecosystem for the benefit of all participants. VoloMedia's motivations are primarily driven by the desire and need to make the episodic download ecosystem work, so consumers have a real choice in how they consume any media that is available on the Internet - whether in a web browser at an aggregation site like Hulu, or on a downloaded and portable basis using Apple's iTunes and iPhone or Microsoft's Zune. We will use our products, technologies, and patents towards this goal.
We are intent on helping accelerate the growth and viability of downloadable, episodic media - much of its potential lies in the future.
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