Industry News & Trends

SiSTeR Technologies Granted a Patent for the Pictures-To-Video

Jeff Kershner
Posted onFeb 11, 2011 at 4:50 PM
Updated onUpdated on May 2, 2011 at 7:52 AM

image of Play buttonI don’t usually allow industry industry press releases migrate over to the homepage of DealerRefresh but this one has a few red flags being thrown up…

Some believe that SiSTeR will use this patent to place a strain on other vendors offering a like service. I can’t imagine this being true or how someone could have a patent on “moving photos” that would effect others…

What do you think?

SiSTeR Technologies Granted a Patent for the Pictures-To-Video (Pic2Vid) Process

Auto Retailers Now Have the USPTO Recognition for Their Favorite Vehicle Video Solution

SiSTeR Technologies, the premier provider of automated video production, distribution and vSEO for auto retailers, manufacturers, and industry partners today announced that it was granted a United States Patent for its Pic2Vid process which has powered their videos since 2004.

The patent, number 7882258 titled “System, Method and Computer Readable Medium For Creating a Video Clip” covers the automated production of video files from still images, text and pre-recorded audio. This eliminates the need for the traditional labor-intensive manual process. Using Pic2Vid, also known as “Pictures to Video” or “Pictures Stitching Video” as core production, SiSTeR provides its clients with cutting edge video marketing solutions that integrate easily into existing online and mobile platforms including third party sites, YouTube, Google and Facebook.

Israel Alpert, co-founder and CEO of SiSTeR Technologies said, “The publication of our patent by USPTO on February 1stwas great timing, as the 2011 National Auto Dealers Association (NADA) Convention & Expo in San Francisco opens this week.” Israel continued, “SiSTeR’s leadership and innovation is, has always been, and will continue to be our number one priority. I’m looking forward to some great conversations at NADA with our current and future partners and customers.”

Recently, SiSTeR entered into a significant contract with an OEM affiliate to provide SiSTeR video products to their dealer network. Currently SiSTeR adds more than 200 dealers a month to its client base. They are expecting that number to grow significantly as they continue to push the barriers of innovation and redefine what the industry knows as a video solution.

Through its direct and indirect networks, SiSTeR serves more than 5,000 automotive dealers, and generates more than 250,000 video clips a month, distributing them to over 30 media and social network channels on the Internet.

In light of the patent development, SiSTeR is looking forward to establishing mutually beneficial relationships with any company currently using, or considering using the technology or process covered in the patent.

About SiSTeR Technologies:
SiSTeR Technologies, based in Dallas, TX is the premier provider of automated video production, distribution and vSEO for auto retailers, manufacturers, and industry partners. SiSTeR provides its clients with cutting edge video marketing solutions that integrate easily into existing online and mobile platforms including third party sites, YouTube, Google and Facebook.

SiSTeR developed the Pic2Vid process that creates video using still images and TrueVoice ™ technology several years ago and has been licensing it to many resellers and business partners since 2005. Recently, SiSTeR was awarded a US patent that covers the automated production of video files from still images, text and pre-recorded audio eliminating the need for laborious manual process. Contact Information: Call 972-855-3500 or visit http://www.sister.tv

Jeff Kershner
Founder of DealerRefresh - 20+ Years of dealership Sales, Management, Training, Marketing and Leadership.
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Heres a good post on Software Patent Absurdity - <a href="http://www.feld.com/wp/archives/2010/05/software-patent-absurdity.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.feld.com/wp/archives/2010/05/software-...</a>
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This one has come up a few times from different people this week. I&#039;m no patent lawyer, but a slideshow with a voiceover isn&#039;t exactly velcro. Wonder what Ken Burns thinks - lol.
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    Bill
  • February 11, 2011
I wonder how UnityWorks and AutoTrader will feel about this.
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    Jay
  • February 11, 2011
It won&#039;t affect them at all. You can patent software but not a process. If a company creates it&#039;s own software technology then it&#039;s ok. Sister and Unity Works I believe have different software. This would be like me saying I am going to get a patent for giving customers test drives to try and sell the car. It can only be for the software...not the process.
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    Richard
  • February 11, 2011
Jay, you can patent a process according to the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

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    jeff kershner
  • February 13, 2011
Companies get away with having a trademark on a name so others are unable to use it in a way that would mislead people to believe they are working/shopping with the unintended business.

I still can't see how this would cause any issues with other vendors offering the same type of service. This is a process but the process is based on a software and unless the other services are using the same type of software, I would think they will be just fine. However, I can see how a company could try and prove that the other services ARE using a technology that infringes upon theirs, causing headaches for others.

We're not the only vertical that uses swiping photos for videos.
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    JohnScott
  • February 13, 2011
Im confused, it looks as if they&#039;re just taking an image and panning left to right with a voice over.

Couldnt that easily be done with a basic script?
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    Tired of the Hype
  • February 14, 2011
I&#039;m hopeful that no one writing on or commenting on this blog is advising dealers or vendors on patent liability. The Sister patent is HUGE and anyone who is using similar processes and not bowing to them (like Dealer.com, Unity, Dealer Specialties, etc...) could find themselves in court.

You CAN patent a process, and that&#039;s what these guys did. As much as I am not a fan of Sister, they did try to work with all of the companies I named above and all of them told them to pound sand - &quot;we can build it ourselves.&quot; Oops.
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Your mention of competing companies and the interactions they had with Sister Technologies is all speculation. IF letters are exchanged between attorneys and IF court cases/settlements are made then we'll know the outcome.
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    Tired of the Hype
  • February 16, 2011
Ask your new bosses, Alex...
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    Philip Zelinger
  • February 26, 2011
Hellom to all,

As you know, SiSTeR Technologies is a valued vendor client of AdAgencyOnline.net and I have a personal vested interest in their success. I asked Israel Alpert, my friend, client and co-founder of SiSTeR, how I should reply to this post. I was proud of his answer so I saw little reason to edit or add to it:



"First and above all, SiSTeR's patent is a stamp of recognition and pride to the entire automotive industry – without the support and the loyalty of the industry SiSTeR couldn't have done it and we shall all be proud for having kept the innovation, productivity and "born in the USA" spirit while developng our video production/marketing platform!



Most of the other providers have been SiSTeR resellers and partners in the past. I assume that just as they chose to enter into an agreement with SiSTeR and enjoyed the fruits of such relations that they will honor the spirit of competition within the boundaries of the law and mutual respect of intellectual property.



In any case, SiSTeR's product and results are considered superior and the company always demonstrated its willing to share and contribute for the benefit of the entire dealer group."



My only additional comment is --- What are friends for!

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    Philip Zelinger
  • February 26, 2011
As far as adding my own inpit to this thread,

I don't want to open a dialogue that could contribute to any legal challenges, or even assert that there will be any since as Israel commented the real issue is the recognition of his initial vision.

That said, the value of the SiSTeR Video Production marketing platform lies in the scalabilty of their solution including human voice vs. text to speech, integrated full motion video clips synched with the audio for a more professional finished production, multi level interactive schema layers within the video allowing for linked info -- like a Carfax report, lead generator, graphics, etc -- a linked application called vShock which allows a dealer to establish business rules to select similar inventory on a micro-site linked to the dealer's site for added vSEO with the initial vehicle video serving as a place holder on the search engines, their established video channel and their dedicated API to You Tube as well as their automated distribution to all online marketing platforms, their backend tool that automatically advises SiSTeR and the dealer of any problems in the production or placement of the video, the ability to monitor the open rate and length of time the video played and a new mobile application that will serve as a new data collection point to take pictures on a PDA and start the production process with no need for a third party provider --- to name a few feature/benefits!

Again, this does not address the potential impact of the patent but hopefully you can understand why I decided not to address that issue on a public forum. Suffice it to say that the value -- or not -- of a patent is above my pay grade. However, the time, energy, effort and funds invested in acquiring it appear to have been worthwhile if for no reason than to say -- SiSTeR was recognized for their contributions to the automated video vertical which has become an integral part of any comprehensive online marketing plan and they have earned their position in the pages of automotive avertising history.

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Phil... Love your stuff, but seriously - your second paragraph is ONE SENTENCE... Are you speaking to us dealers? This is the problem with current marketing efforts... Too complex and WAY TOO LONG... Give me some short and sweet bullet points because I can't wrap my brain around what you are saying... (and for the record, I get it)... Just say what's on your mind without the big words and long sentences...

Still love your stuff, just some constructive criticism...
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    Philip Zelinger
  • March 2, 2011
Tom ... I thought that was why G-D created commas? LOL! Seriously though, the word "constructive" came through loud and clear and I appreciate your advice, (I like that word better than criticism).

Atre all, that's what friends are for!
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    Jeff Kershner
  • May 17, 2011
This fizzled into nothing i guess. Many were thinking this was going to cause some ruckus with the other video providers. I didn't see how it could but then again you never know.
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If lawsuits were the outcome of this, those take time to formulate.  If it was a future protective/preventative measure, then we may never hear anymore about it.
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