Immersed in controversy
Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal - by Erik Espe Business Journal Staff Writer
"One of the things my Dad said was that `You ain't nobody until somebody hates you,'" says Jim Phillips, CEO of software maker Interactive Pictures Inc., also known as IPIX.
By his father's definition, Mr. Phillips and his San Jose-based company can consider themselves a roaring success. IPIX is facing battles on many fronts--from an international boycott to past and present lawsuits--yet Mr. Phillips says his company's sales and recent IPO have not been affected by the animosity.
IPIX went public on Aug. 5, selling more than 4 million shares at $18 each. By Sept. 15, the price had increased to $22.13.
"We went public in a market that wasn't too hot," noted Mr. Phillips. "We're above our opening price, which a lot of people can't say."
IPIX's IPO on the Nasdaq exchange netted the company more than $70 million, according to Mr. Phillips. So even though the company is still losing money, "We've now got a war chest approaching $100 million," he said.
IPIX has invested about $50 million over the years in the development of its technology, which enables users to create "immersive" photographs. A viewer of the image is able to look up to the sky, or all around. The image is interactive and looks 3-D. But in fact, it's only a pair of photographs taken with a fish-eye lens.
Similar technology has been developed by Apple Computer Inc.'s QuickTime division, but IPIX has managed to solidify relationships with IBM, Microsoft Corp., Intel Corp., Ticketmaster and many others to gain an edge in the market.
If a user wants to post a photo on a Web site, IPIX charges $25. In a sense, the user is paying $25 to "develop" the immersive photo for the Web.
QuickTime photographers unite
Some photographers complained that they needed to pay the $25 fee per photo just to send a proof sheet to clients. "So we created a proof," Mr. Phillips said. "Photographers can e-mail images to clients."
But that hasn't stopped an online protest movement against the company that questions the firm's ethics and its patents.
There are at least 50 Web sites protesting IPIX with a banner that reads "This site proud to be 100 percent IPIX free."
"We're not trying to bash the company," said Australian photographer David Sheehy, who called long distance to discuss IPIX. "We're trying to inform people."
The protests started in April, when an international boycott was launched against the firm following legal threats it made against a German researcher, whom it falsely accused of stealing photographs.
The immersive photography expert reports on his Web site that he received an e-mail message from London attorney Paul Stevens, which began with the line, "Subject: Interactive Pictures Versus Yourself."
The message went on to accuse Mr. Dersch--who developed a free software product known as Panorama Tools for editing IPIX and other panorama images--of stealing an IPIX photograph from its Web site.
In addition to demanding that the offending photo be removed from Mr. Dersch's Web site, the message requested that Mr. Dersch provide IPIX with a list "e-mail addresses of all those persons who you are aware of who have downloaded the Panorama Tools from your site."
According to Mr. Dersch's Web site, the researcher didn't comply with that request and continues to post the offending image, which IPIX now acknowledges was taken by Mr. Dersch, using his own technology. IPIX apologized to the researcher for the mistake.
But Mr. Dersch now says he has joined the IPIX boycott and no longer distributes software for editing IPIX images.
His software now only supports Apple's QuickTime products.
Photographers saw the threatening e-mail to Mr. Dersch as an example of an aggressive corporation picking on the "little guy."
Latest News |
Most Viewed Stories |
Most Emailed Stories |
