Playboy settles with Acacia

[Mike AI]

Originally posted by RawAlex@Mar 15 2004, 11:53 AM
Nick, exactly what they want you to think. I think it is important to note that both of these "blockbuster" deals are "terms not disclosed"... which translates roughly to "We made a sweetheart deal to be able to use their name"...

If the license fee gets small enough, it is easy to figure that the reward (saved back payments for all the time from 1991 onward) @2% is less than the expense of signing (sweetheart deal, $0 for any thing before signing, fixed rate soft payment for 7 years, etc). Risk of multi millions compared to a much lower expense spread over 7 years, with the chance of a reprieve if the copyright is struck down in that time frame.

Really, it is simple math. Acacia could have avoided almost all legal if they had come to the table with a signifcantly smaller license fee (say .25%?)... but they are lawyers, and they like to run up billable hours.

Alex

Alex it pains me to say, but you are right on the money when it comes to sweetheart deals with big names.