Join with IVRPA to Save 360 VR Photography!

[Scott Witte]

Join with the IVRPA to Save 360 VR Photography! Your ability to make a living with 360 VR photography, possibly even to create such images for personal use, is in jeopardy. This is real. We need to act. We need to stop this. You can help. More on how below, but first some background: (Or Donate Now)

What is this all about? You may have heard of the infamous '400 patent. ( US Patent 6,754,400 ). Anyone with knowledge considers it junk. It's almost as if they just copied Quicktime, iPix and various common virtual tour practices, wrote them down and claimed they invented it all -- in 2001. They sent it off to the US Patent office never acknowledging the existing "prior art." The patent examiners never noticed it so they gave them the patent. An outfit called Tour Technology Systems, LLC (TTS) now owns the patent and is using it to demand money from our clients including hotels, builders, realtors, media companies, anybody who uses 360 images and tours. TTS's lawyer sends them a letter saying their use of 360 virtual tours infringes TTS's patent and demands significant money for their continued use or they will take legal action. Clients freak out. It is, after all, a real patent. Even when clients learn that they are protected, for instance IPix customers are protected by the IPix patents, it doesn't matter. The cost of defending against the '400 patent is too great. Sometimes they get mad at us (the photographers and tour producers) for putting them in this situation. Usually they take down the tours rather than pay the ransom and swear never to use 360 VR again. And they often warn others in their industry to do the same. One photographer I know recently lost a client worth $50,000 because of this. The more you read the more outraged you will be. Just Google "Patent 6,754,400". If you haven't lost a client over this prepare yourself. By our estimation there are easily dozens of photographers who have been hit financially and many times more seeing the threat to their clients. Anthony Handal, lawyer for TTS, tells us he is just getting started. What if you don't sell your 360 images? There is nothing to stop TTS from going after PTGui, KRPano, Pano2VR, FPP, EasyPano... any software that produces 360 images since the technology they all use is ostensibly covered by the '400 patent. It is just a matter of time. What can you do? The effort needs funds and help researching and preparing documentation. IVRPA (International Virtual Reality Photography Association) is sponsoring the move to stop the '400 patent. Work done so far by our lawyers makes us confident that we can succeed. But it will take money, some $20,000. Therein lies the problem. TTS knows that the cost and time of challenging their patent is too great for most companies. It is easier and cheaper to just fold. If we all band together to finance this we can all reap the benefits. If we don't... expect a hit -- maybe a huge hit -- to your pocketbook and passion one way or another. It's just a matter of time. Your choice: Together we win. Separately doing nothing we all lose. IVRPA is contributing what it can to this effort but there is no way the organization can do it all. We just aren't that big. We need your help to make this happen, IVRPA member or not. Donate Now Put this into perspective, if you lose just one client, one 360 virtual tour job, how much will that cost you? How much would you pay to prevent this? Documentation: We need proof that methods and technology covered by the '400 patent were in use before the patent was submitted (Feb. 6th, 2001). We already know the pre-existing patents. Software manuals, magazine articles, books etc that describe all this would be great if they were clearly published before the '400 patent application . Please contact Scott Witte if you have these. Your Stories: Have you or your clients been affected by the '400 patent? We need as much intelligence as possible about what Handal is doing, who is he approaching and what have been the result, especially any settlements made. Please contact Scott Witte directly with this information. Please. Let's all do our part! If you can, a significant part. (Note: If you prefer, and especially for large contributions, you may wire money directly into the IVRPA Patent Fund account. Contact Scott Witte for more information.) Scott Witte IVRPA board member Coordinator, patent committee. On Behalf of the IVRPA Board of Directors

[Thomas Erh]

Hi, Scott!

I just saw your e-mail and I don't know if this could help...

Few days ago, I saw something somewhere on web about this guy who is one of the creators of QTVR technology, Mr. Ken Turkowski. I found him on Facebook and send a message asking him if he really was one of the creators of the QTVR technology. He answered: "Yes. Eric Chen, Gavin Miller and me." And then I replied that he changed my photographic life with QTVR because I am working exclusively with 360's now.

Do you think that IVRPA could contact Ken Turkowski, Eric Chen and Gavin Miller and try to find any proof/documentation of the existence of 360's before this '400 patent? I bet they must have something. And wouldn't they have a personal "emotional" interest on this matter since someone else ripped off their creation?

Just a thought...

Best wishes from Brazil,

Thomas Erh

+55 (51) 8115-8888

tho...@shots360.com.br
www.shots360.com.br
www.twitter.com/shots360
Skype: thomaserh
MSN: thoma...@hotmail.com
www.facebook.com/thomaserh

[Scott Witte]

Thomas,

Thanks for the suggestion. Yes! Ken and a few other involved with the Quicktime patents are very much on our list of those to contact. In fact, their involvement along with Ford Oxxal's would be tremendously important.

Scott

On 4/27/2011 10:48 PM, Thomas Erh wrote:

Few days ago, I saw something somewhere on web about this guy who is one of the creators of QTVR technology, Mr. Ken Turkowski. I found him on Facebook and send a message asking him if he really was one of the creators of the QTVR technology. He answered: "Yes. Eric Chen, Gavin Miller and me." And then I replied that he changed my photographic life with QTVR because I am working exclusively with 360's now.

Do you think that IVRPA could contact Ken Turkowski, Eric Chen and Gavin Miller and try to find any proof/documentation of the existence of 360's before this '400 patent? I bet they must have something. And wouldn't they have a personal "emotional" interest on this matter since someone else ripped off their creation?

--

Scott Witte



414.345.9660
Member, IVRPA