Monster Media Asserts Its Social OOH Patent
Adrian J Cotterill, Editor-in-Chief
Monster Media has started to assert a number of its Social OOH Patents, variously US Patent; 8,886,759, US 7,450,954, US 8,615,565 and US 8,880,649 all of which are related to different forms of Interactive Out-of-Home technology.
The first court case and subsequent settlement has been announced with regard Aerva’s patent infringement – an action was filed by Monster Media on February 13, 2015 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Monster Media are asserting their rights as a practising entity and so cannot in anyway be called a Troll – unlike the (other) Florida goat-herder.
Stephen Randall, EVP Mobile and Social Technology, Monster Media, told us in a phone call earlier this week “We are glad to have reached this settlement with Aerva. The ability to engage with audiences and amplify a brand’s messages across multiple channels has become a critical part of an Out-of-Home network’s toolkit. Our intellectual property is a key enabler of that experience and helps us defend the strategic market position for our Monster Social platform.”
Any company that is supplying technology that enables social media to display specific messages on screens typically using hashtags or account names is potentially infringing this patent. No doubt Monster Media will want to protect their IP and have every right to do so – unless someone of course wants to dispute the validity of the original patent. Monster Media acquired much of this IP when they bought LocaModa in July 2013 and LocaModa have usage going back to 2004 (which in this industry of ours is pretty much a lifetime) so someone would need a couple of million dollars and be able to prove prior use before that date.
We’d hazard a guess that both Insteo and Enplug should be quaking in their boots and we’d be surprised if they had not already been served legal papers.
Monster’s platform, Monster Social, has been used by brands including Levis, Tide, Gap and ESPN for landmark interactive campaigns in iconic places such as Times Square and the Vegas Strip. The platform has also been used by venues such as Madison Square Garden, Verizon Center and Orlando Citrus Bowl for audience engagement. Teams including New York Rangers, New York Knicks and Miami Dolphins and concerts such as Pitbull’s New Year’s Revolution have also leveraged the technology.
Robert Epstein, litigation counsel for Monster Media and Partner at Epstein Drangel LLP, was quoted as saying “Monster has built and invested in a substantial patent portfolio around enabling social media for Out-of-Home digital networks and event-based screens and this settlement validates the strength of their properties.”
Epstein believes the settlement will provide a significant advantage with respect to ongoing and future litigation and licensing of Monster’s patents for Out-of-Home, Retail, Sport and Event-based social media.
For any OOH or media network that is a likely infringer then have no doubt that Monster Media would like to talk to you and they’ve told us would be happy to license the technology.
Companies interested in obtaining a license for Monster’s Intellectual Properties can contact Stephen Randall stephen.randall@monstermedia.net directly.
The terms of the settlement have been kept confidential.
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