If Not Acquired, Limelight May Work With Other CDNs To Fight Akamai's 703 Patent

Why there is a lot of speculation on exactly what may happen to Limelight in terms of a potential acquisition, my bet is on AT&T or Level 3, there is also the possibility that Limelight may team up with other CDNs to fight Akamai's 703 patent if they are not acquired.

At the core of the 703 patent is the idea that Akamai has essentially patented all forms of delivering content on the web. Based on the ruling today, the court is basically saying that any content publisher that has a website with ANY embedded object (not just video) that is not delivered under the control of the content producer is infringing on the 703 patent. There was some very specific working about this in the ruling today and I will publish the exact wording shortly when I have the transcript.

Don't be surprised if Limelight rallies other CDNs to the patent fight under the belief that the 703 patent is too broad and is essentially patenting all content delivery on the Internet.

Limelight Will Appeal Ruling: Could Be Acquired Shortly

I expect Limelight Networks will appeal today's ruling and by so doing, will get a stay on the injunction ruling until the appeal can at least be heard. So for the mean time, it will be business as usual for Limelight and they won't be forced to shut down.

That being said, discussions are underway about Limelight being acquired by a larger player in the space who would then fight Akamai in court over the ruling. Limelight does not have a lot of resources to fight such a ruling nor an extensive patent portfolio so they are limited in what they can do.

While rumors have been circulating about Limelight being acquired by Microsoft, I am predicting it would be AT&T or Level 3. Talks are intensifying about the acquisition and I put the chance at over 50%.

Updated: Limelight has just announced they will appeal the ruling.

Akamai Awarded $45.5 Million In Patent Ruling Against Limelight Networks

A few hours ago, a ruling came down in the Akamai and Limelight Networks patent suit awarding Akamai $45.5 million dollars finding that Limelight Networks infringed on Akamai's patents. Akamai is also asking the court to issue a permanent injunction prohibiting Limelight from continuing to sell CDN their services.

While the damage claims are not that big of a deal in terms of the size of settlement Limelight would have to pay, the real question is what Limelight does next. There are a few potential things that could happen which are all going to be based on whether or not the court issues an injunction in Akamai's favor. If Akamai gets the injunction, Limelight options will be limited as they won't have a lot of time to stay an injunction.

Limelight might be able to find a work around on its network to avoid the infringing patent and could always potentially come to some kind of licensing terms with Akamai, but my guess is that they already have a work around on their network to avoid the infringement. They have known about the suit for a long time and hopefully, have prepared different plans to put into action once the ruling came out.

Microsoft Releases Windows Media Services 2008

Yesterday, Microsoft officially announced the launch of Windows Media Services 2008. While I expect we will see a lot more announcements and news around this and other products at next week's MIX event, here are just some of the highlights from Microsoft of the new Windows Media Services:

• Reliability: Improves on the 99.999% reliability of Windows Server 2003

• Native 64-bit OS Support: 2x the industry-leading scalability of WMS 9.0 thanks to native 64-bit operating system support

• Scalable Live Streaming: deliver large-scale live events to a global audience

• Fast Streaming: Fast Start and the newer Advanced Fast Start for WMS significantly reduce streaming buffering times to deliver near-television-like experiences when playing back content or switching between sources. For on-demand content, Advanced Fast Start also enables quick seeking within a WMS stream, allowing users to "seek" forward or backward instantly.

• New Cache/Proxy Server plug-in: this plug-in allows a Windows Media server in a branch office or other remote location to easily split a single broadcast stream from the home office into multiple streams for local end users, reducing WAN traffic.

There are a bunch of other features as well that simplify management, cut costs and enable monetization, which you can read about here.

In addition, many features of Windows Media Services that were previously available only on Windows Server Enterprise and Datacenter are now available on Windows Server Standard, and all Standard features are now also available on Windows Web Server 2008. This makes Windows Media Services 2008 available to a broader set of users at a lower cost. 

With the launch of Windows Server 2008, Windows Media Services 2008 is now available for the Windows Web Server 2008, which has a suggested retail price of $469.

List Of Online Video Conferences, Tradeshows and Events

In the past year or two, many new summits, conferences and events have sprung up to talk about online video or some specific facet of online video like video advertising, video search etc... and I am asked all the time by people for a list of shows.

With that in mind, here is a list of many events that have an online video focus to them of some kind. I did not list events like NAB, CES, IBC etc... as those shows are not focused on online video specifically and I didn't list shows that only talk to terrestrial video with no online component. Also, I did not list any event that has a website that has no info on it or an event that is over a year old and I only listed events in the U.S., Canada and Europe. Many of the links go to 2007 show websites as some have not yet announced 2008 dates.

This list is far from finished. Please add events you think are missing in the comments section and I will continue to keep the list updated.

• AlwaysOn OnHollywood
• AlwaysOn OnMedia NYC
• Broadcast LIVE and Video Forum (Europe)
• ClickZ Online Video Advertising
• Digital Hollywood (Many Locations)
• Digital Media Summit
• Driving Digital Content (Europe)
• EconSM Conference
• Entertainment Technology Alliance (Europe)
• FT Digital Media & Broadcasting Conference (Europe)
• Future TV Show
• Future TV Show Europe (Europe)
• Government Video Technology Expo
• IP Media Expo
• IPTV World Forum (Europe)
• Media Content World Summit (Europe)
• mesh (Canada)
• Mobile TV & Video Summit
• Mobile TV World Summit (Europe)
• NewTeeVee Live
• nextMEDIA (Canada)
• OMMA Global Hollywood
• OMMA Video LA
• OMMA Video NY
• Online Publishers Association (Europe)
• Streaming Media East
• Streaming Media Europe
• Streaming Media West
• The Deal's Convergence 2.0
• The Engagement Debate
• TV of Tomorrow Show
• TV Over Net (Europe)
• Video Search Summit

If I forgot your event, it wasn't personal, just too many to keep track of, hence the need for a list. Please add it to the comments section.

Webinar: Online Video 2.0, Best Practices You Can Use Today

StreamingMedia.com is hosting a free live webinar today at 11amPST/2pm EST on the subject of "Setting the Bar for Online Video 2.0: Best Practices You Can Use Today". Sponsored by PermissionTV, join online video experts as they discuss the top trends in online video and review real-world examples of how companies are setting the bar for the next phase – Video 2.0. Whether a brand marketer, an advertising agency or a media company, this Webcast will arm you with the information you need to execute your own Video 2.0 strategy.

The webinar is free and you can sign up online.

CDN Panther Express Raises $15.75 Million In Series B Round

As expected, this morning Panther Express announced it had closed $15.75 million in series B funding lead by Index Ventures. Gold Hill Capital and existing investor Greylock Partners also participated. 

In the press release,Panther does not gives any real details on what they will use the money towards other than to say for "international expansion" and "further infrastructure investment". Currently Panther has 250 customers, 50 of which are based in Europe.

The big question I have is whether or not Panther Express will use any of this money to build out their network to support streaming, since right now they only support video delivery via progressive downloads.

Note: I have a briefing call with Panther Express later in the day and will update this post should I get any additional details.

Free Product Giveaway: Microsoft Expression Studio

Thanks to the generous folks over at Microsoft, they have provided me with nine copies of Expression Studio that I can give away on the blog. The Expression Studio bundle includes Expression Web, Expression Blend, Expression Media and Expression Design and retails for $599. Expression Studio also includes a license for Expression Encoder and anyone can currently download a 180 day trail of the encoder here.

Three have already been given away in a drawing last month and I'll be giving the last six away in the next two weeks. I would like to give them away to those who will really use them as part of their daily job. To qualify to win a copy you must leave one comment in this post with a suggestion for Microsoft on how they can improve any aspect of Expression, Silverlight or Windows Media. Have you seen a feature you'd like included? Is there something missing that you think should be in the next version? Leave a comment with a working e-mail address. I will pick three users a week from today using a random number picker website and ship them out to the winners at no cost. Anyone is welcome to enter, but only your first comment will be counted.

If any company is interested in getting exposure for their video related product on my blog and is willing to give away the product, contact me. I will post pictures of the product, link to the company website and potentially write a product review or link to other reviews on the web. It's great exposure for your product.

MSNBC Debate Webcast Constantly Buffering, Poor Audio

I've been trying to watch the Clinton and Obama debate live on MSNBC.com and for the 10 minutes since it started, I can't get more than 2-3 seconds of clear video without the screen freezing and delivering me a "buffering" message in the video window. The audio is very distorted as well with high-pitch feedback type noises. What a terrible experience. Anyone able to watch the stream without any problems?

Update: Within a few minutes of me making this post ten others have already left comments below experiencing the same problems. Not good, especially for those of us who have FiOS TV, which does not carry MSNBC.

Update 2: One of the folks who commented below gave a new link from another website where the video works. Now that's the power of the web.

Update 3: I put in calls to Limelight and Akamai's support numbers and both folks I spoke to in the network operations centers didn't think their company was delivering the stream. I won't know for sure until Wednesday where/who the problem is with.

Update 4: Limelight Networks has officially confirmed that they are not delivering the webcast.

Update 5: Akamai has officially stated to me that they were not involved in the webcast. I have a request into MSNBC, should hear back shortly.

P2P Session: Speakers and Content Suggestions Wanted

In May, I've got a panel at Streaming Media East entitled "P2Ps Role In Delivering Online Video" and I am looking for speakers and suggestions on the content. What core topic or facet should the session really drill down on? What are the most pressing issues with P2P and who would make for good speakers?

At our last show, we did a whole P2P session with just vendors, so this year around I am looking to have speakers from non-vendor companies. Customers, ISPs, legal experts etc.... is the angle I am thinking of but am open to ideas. I am also looking for a really good moderator that is not employed by a P2P vendor.

Please leave content suggestions and topics in the comments section and contact me if you want to speak or know of a good speaker/moderator. Anyone who is helpful in securing speakers will receive a free conference pass to the event.