You be the judge:

If you engaged in selling stock photography there are people out
there who are trying to get you to sign a license to use their
patent. The patent is 6,799,165 and involves selling digital goods
online when those digital goods are provided by other people.

The problem is that the "methods and procedures" in this patent are
not only obvious but were actually in use prior to the application
for the patent. Index Stock was already online, representing
photographers and selling digital goods in 1996.

If you are at all interested in this, please go to
http://www.acclaimimages.com/patent_6799165.html
and read up...everytime I look into this a little more I find out how
easy it would be to invalidate this patent. You wouldn't even need to
prove "obviousness" because the exact methods were already in use
prior to the patent holder starting his business based on these
methods and procedures.

Despite the obvious fact that patent 6,799,165 will not hold up in
court it is vital that the word is spread so that small business
owners are educated now so that they do not sign a license that will
remain valid even after the patent is no longer valid.

Please contact me so I can add you to my database if you have
evidence aginst this patent or have been contacted by the patent
holders.

Fred Voetsch
Acclaim Images LLC
http://www.acclaimimages.com