[Lee Mcgowan]

Hi Mike,
l will try & get more details

[Lee Mcgowan]

Hi Noah,
I agree to some extents that it is not really my problem. I wonder what Sonic or Apple for instance feel about selling software that encourages purchasers to commit Patent infringements!

[Lee Mcgowan]

Hi Eric,
Thanks for taking the time to reply to my post.

If you could dig up any further details, that would be really great! When l was told that a ‘royalty’ was paid because of the motion menus, l told them that they must be crazy!

But they paid anyway, saying the fee was cheaper than paying for a Patent lawyer to defend their position & they did not want to be involved in an expensive Patent case where they stood the risk of bad publicity & being labelled as Patent Infringers!

My thoughts are that if there is a Patent on motion menus, Authors need to know…so they can advise their clients to factor in these costs. If this is just a scam, Authors still need to know, so they can advise & point their clients to the evidence that proves they are being scammed.

[Lee Mcgowan]

The client’s own original content is on the DVD you made for them.
—Yes, they own all assets

You created motion menus that feature PIP boxes looping a few seconds of footage of that identical content, based on the actual content.

—Correct

If the client owns the content, what exactly is the scalliwag’s claim against you?
— The claim is not against me personally, just to the companies l have authored DVD for.

IS this another product, using a client’s footage?
—No
Or are they saying they own the entire idea of what a motion menu is, and so they want a royalty from you for using motion menus in a project?
—correct, apart from they want a royalty from the companies l have authored DVD’s for.
IANAL,
—not sure what IANAL stands for, but if it rhymes with ‘what the ‘eck’, my thoughts exactly!

If they had a case, wouldn’t they be suing every motion picture to come out on DVD, for millions?
—apparently this is what’s been happening, though l have searched extensivly on the web l can find no reports. It’s cheaper to settle l suppose.

Giving this more thought, aren’t motion menus part of the DVD spec? Don’t we pay royalties to them already by purchasing DVD authoring software? Are not royalties also paid at replication?

I really don’t get it, hence my post!

[Lee Mcgowan]

If l may clarify, the lawyers are not claiming any misuse of trademark or copyright – the clients l author DVD’s for are mainly ‘Blue Chip’ companies who own all the content anyway – these lawyers are claiming that their client owns the Patent on the use of motion (video) on menus on any DVD replicated! Basically, if there is video on a menu, they want a royalty!