Why AOL’s 'Platform A' May Not Make the Grade

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Comments

[Off the Rad...:]

Very very interesting. It will be hard for them to even take it public with such a material lawsuit pending. No underwriter would put their name on the prospectus until it was resolved. It's amazing to me they are dumb enough to role Tacoda across all of Platform A without resolving this issue? You make a great point, what if they lose? then what? None of it surprises me, AOL has not been known for making the best of decisions over recent years.

2008 Jun 18 10:38 AM

[User 212268:]

Well, not sure if this is true or not and the saying innocent until proven guilty still means something...right?

Besides, Advertising.com had developed their own behavioral targeting inhouse...and combined I think I read...so maybe that is the difference..or maybe plan B.

2008 Jun 18 11:24 AM

[eddiemurphy:]

I think the lawsuit is a non issue, many web companies have such matters pending and they rarely come to much.

Of much greater importance is who is going to get this up and running on Ad.com's platform given that the people who know most about how to implement and run the technology have left. Tacoda's main strength was smoke and mirrors marketting of what is in reality average technology. This is currently the case for all of the major behavioural firms.

2008 Jun 20 12:04 PM

[Off the Rad...:]

I generally agree with you but I think the lawsuit is a pretty big concern. I've spent some time looking at this company's patents and they are pretty impressive from my perspective having researched many patents in the past. It looks like Tacoda was actually being sued before AOL bought them and without AOL buying them, Tacoda would have been forced to deal with it with their limited resources. Morgan was saved by the "AOL" bell so to speak. I think the other major behavioral firms could face the same issue with this little companies patents, especially if a larger player acquires them. To date, they obviously haven't had the resources to go after all of them. Blue Lithium acquired by Yahoo is another clear infringer along with what would appear to be many others. It's why I think one of the large guys would be well served to snap up this small company and use their patent portfolio as a weapon against the competition. The licensing opportunities alone are tremendous. Again, I would generally not be concerned about lawsuits in the normal course of business. However, this lawsuit is dealing with the fundamental core technology being deployed across all of platform A, it's absolutely critical as stated in their own words. Clarizio stated they acquired Tacoda for the technology and not their people so it contradicts your thoughts. I tend to agree more with you frankly.

2008 Jun 20 01:36 PM

[Off the Rad...:]

Aol acquires a company being sued for stealing someone elses patented technology and pays $275 million for it and then fires all that company's best minds! Just one more dumb mistake in a list of many. AOL can't find it own way out of a paper bag! They are so stupid they are probably going to sit idle till another competitor just buys this company and really cause themselves a major problem! Good lord, imagine if Google gets their hands on these patents!

2008 Jun 20 02:30 PM

[Off the Rad...:]

I guess AOl could always go back to Advertisng.com's platform if they lose but they must be changing to Tacoda from Advertising.com for some reason? I can't believe they bought the company for its technology and paid that much and they don't even own a patent on it? I guess AOl didn't get into the mess they are in by making good strategic decisions. It's time Falco and company get it right or they will go the way of the dinasour.

2008 Jun 20 03:09 PM