Future of Sex
tagline
  • Remote Sex
  • Virtual Sex & Entertainment
  • Robots
  • Human Augmentation
  • Sex Tech
  • Dating & Relationships
  • Bizarre Bazaar 18+
  • Future of Sex Community
  • Remote Sex
  • Virtual Sex & Entertainment
  • Robots
  • Human Augmentation
  • Sex Tech
  • Dating & Relationships
  • Bizarre Bazaar 18+
  • Future of Sex Community
  • CES Sex Toy News and Sex Tech Brands

  • Policing Intimacy: AI Companion Apps Are Removing NSFW Features, and People Are Not Happy

  • The Future of Sex Is Non-binary Genital Surgery That Advances Bodily Agency

  • Is Equity Crowdfunding the Future of Sex Tech Investment?

  • Sex Tech News: New VR Sex Game, a User-Generated Erotica App and ‘Porn for TV’ Streaming Relaunches

  • Blyynd Brings on Investors to Build Anonymous Sexting App

  • A Fitbit for the Penis? The FirmTech Tech Ring Product Review

  • Sex Tech at CES 2023: 6 Brands Exhibited, Including an Anonymous Sexting App

Future of Sex is supported by our readers. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Home > Remote Sex > Lovense Granted Patent for Tip-controlled Sex Toys

Remote SexSex Tech
Home›Remote Sex›Lovense Granted Patent for Tip-controlled Sex Toys

Lovense Granted Patent for Tip-controlled Sex Toys

By Jenna Owsianik
September 19, 2017
4961
6

How will intellectual property rights affect the future of long-distance sex?

An image depicting struggle over patent law.

Last week, Lovense co-founders Eddy Olivares and Dan Liu received rights to a patent that covers the use of tip-controlled vibrators during interactive webcam shows.

Below is the abstract for the new patent, which is called “Interactive online entertainment system and method.”

[box type=”shadow”]

Disclosed is a system and method for allowing one or more users to interact with models from a distance, for example, by enabling the users to tip the models during online video chat sessions, wherein the models can define tipping parameters to perform predefined acts, via an adult toy, based on the amount of tips received. The adult toy can be Wi-Fi or Bluetooth™ enabled to receive commands directly from the server via a web browser extension, the website hosting an online video chat session, or connect to an application installed on a device operated by the model, wherein the application communicates with the web browser extension to relay commands to the adult toy therefrom. In some embodiments, the browser extension or website can generate live control links to enable certain users have a live control of the model's adult toy.

[/box]

The first tip-controlled sex toys?

Lovense currently sells a range of interactive sex toys, including the male stroker Max and the vibrator Nora. Following a successful Indiegogo campaign this year, the sex tech company also plans to release a new bullet vibrator, g-spot device, wand, and prostate massager.

All Lovense devices are designed to integrate with cam sites, for example, Flirt4Free and Camsoda [NSFW], thanks to a browser extension. Using the extension, performers can decide which tip amounts will create different vibration or rotation intensities. Check out Lovense’s cam model page here for more information.

But cam models haven’t only been using Lovense sex toys to receive tips. Lux Alptraum previously reported in 2015 that cam models had been hacking sound-activated devices, such as OhMiBod’s Club Vibe 2.0 and Freestyle G, so that these sex toys would respond to the sounds made as a result of clients tipping. Each tip makes a noise, which then increases a vibrator’s intensity.

While the patent application was filed in April 2016, it’s unclear whether cam models’ prior tinkering with sex toys conflicts with Lovense’s claim of inventing tip-activated sex toys. It's likely that cam companies not yet affiliated with Lovense will be asked to pay licensing fees or, potentially, damages.

Cam models who hack sex toys to respond to tipping could also face potential legal action or receive cease and desist letters. We've heard of sex workers being told to stop hacking sex toys to enable them for long-distance sex by a different patent holder.

We don't normally cover webcamming at Future of Sex. However, this patent may prevent developers from entering into teledildonics because it presents another cost associated with the field. This may be the case if someone only wants to get into remote sex for the profits associated with webcamming. Sex tech patents have already been accused of stifling innovation. Is this one dealing another blow?

What do you think this new patent means for the future of remote sex? Share your comments below.

Image source: opensource.com

Tags#patents

Jenna Owsianik

Jenna Owsianik is a Canadian journalist and sex tech expert. Since 2014 she has been Editor-in-Chief of FutureofSex.net, the world’s leading publication on how technology is changing human sexuality, today and tomorrow.

Jenna is the primary author of the Future of Sex Report (2016).

Her expertise covers state-of-the-art sex technologies and the major fields driving innovations in intimacy: robotics, virtual reality, remote sex (teledildonics), immersive adult entertainment, human augmentation, virtual sex, and sexual health.

A trained journalist with a Masters of Journalism from The University of British Columbia, Jenna’s reporting has appeared on Futurism.com, Al Jazeera English, CTV British Columbia online, CBS Sunday Morning, CBS 60 Minutes, Global News, and CKNW Radio in Canada and the United States.

As a sex tech industry consultant, she is especially passionate about helping companies deliver accessible services and products to people with disabilities and other underserved communities.

Jenna also runs the sites SexforEveryBody.com, a sex-positive, body-positive online magazine that promotes inclusive sex education; and DisabledSexGuide.com, an adult resource on sex, disability, and erotica.

In 2013, Jenna won two Canadian Online Publishing Awards for her work on The Pain Project, a multimedia site on global access to palliative care.

She won second place at the 2011 Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism’s Public Health category for her participation in the documentary Freedom From Pain.

Jenna has an Honors BA in Women’s Studies and Feminist Research as well as a French minor from The University of Western Ontario. She spent a year studying at L’Université Lumière Lyon 2 in Lyon, France.
Previous Article

Inside China’s $15bn Sex Toy Market and ...

Next Article

Sex Ed for Adults: The Best Online ...

Related articles More from author

  • The Master Beta Kit by Orgasmatronics
    Remote SexSex Tech

    Erotic Engineering: An Open-Source Sex Toy Hacking Kit for Beginners

    April 14, 2015
    By Jenna Owsianik
  • KIIROO Onyx
    Remote SexSex TechVirtual Sex & EntertainmentImmersive Entertainment

    KIIROO CEO Toon Timmermans on Teledildonics, Patents and the Onyx

    December 22, 2014
    By Hugo Gray
  • Dr. X. Treme holds the Master Beta Kit.
    Sex Tech

    Dr. X. Treme Calls Out Patents for Hurting Sex Tech Industry

    April 23, 2015
    By Jenna Owsianik
  • A picture of a legal objects.
    Remote SexSex Tech

    The 6 Sex Tech Companies Facing Lawsuits for Patent Infringement

    July 25, 2015
    By Jenna Owsianik
  • Remote Sex

    Say Goodbye to the Mod: Patent Suit Ends Production of Open-Source Dildo

    February 23, 2016
    By Jenna Owsianik
  • A figure displaying what the 268 patent covers
    Remote SexSex Tech

    Teledildonics Timeline: One Patent’s Control over the Remote Sex Market [Updated]

    August 12, 2018
    By Jenna Owsianik

6 comments

  1. Waldo 9 November, 2017 at 01:42 Log in to Reply

    5 minute search on google and I already have prior art from 2012. I’m sure there is tons more out there. http://forum.arduino.cc/index.php?PHPSESSID=auebd1uffuheruch7luu2f8mg3&topic=112744.0

    • Jenna Owsianik 14 November, 2017 at 03:34 Log in to Reply

      Very interesting. Someone on Twitter responded to this article, too, saying “Curiously the claims on this appear to be written in a way that distinguishes it from the tip-control code I wrote back for Doxie in 2014.” https://twitter.com/purpletailed/status/926556407192805378

      Kiiroo also recently announced it’s partnering with another company to make it sex saddle (not the Sybian) interactive and work with tips. A rep said, though, that the system is different than Lovense’s and added he couldn’t say more. (We will have an article up on this shortly).

      I wonder how this will all pan out…

Leave a reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

  • couple in bed
    Dating & Relationships

    An Exploration in How to Sleep Together Remotely

  • Mor Product Family skin patch and app
    AugmentationSex Tech

    App-controlled Skin Patch ‘Mor’ Delays Orgasm By Blocking Brain Waves

  • VDOM an app-driven prosthetic penis sextech
    Augmentation

    The VDOM Seeks $1.5M in Seed Funding for ‘Cyber Penis’

Virtual Lust is a 3D interactive sex game.
3DXChat
Discover the best virtual sex parties and 3D sex worlds.
  • TOP REVIEWS

  • “Bright Lights, Loving City”—An Erotic Speculative Fiction Story

  • Woman in blue lighting with yellow binary code projected across her face.

    Policing Intimacy: AI Companion Apps Are Removing NSFW Features, and People Are Not Happy

  • Porn for TV logo (computer screen graphic with pink u shapes and a mouse cursor).

    Sex Tech News: New VR Sex Game, a User-Generated Erotica App and ‘Porn for TV’ ...

  • The Blyynd logo with two screens. One has a chat screen and one has the sexual desire options listed.

    Blyynd Brings on Investors to Build Anonymous Sexting App

  • FirmTech Tech Ring

    A Fitbit for the Penis? The FirmTech Tech Ring Product Review

  • Sex Tech at CES 2023: 6 Brands Exhibited, Including an Anonymous Sexting App

  • What Vibrating Buttplug Support in a Video Game Taught Us About the Future of Webcam ...

  • Is Virtual Reality Dating Going Mainstream?

  • Sex Doll Brothels: Reality vs. Expectation

  • Replika AI Chatbot saved human marriage

    How Replika’s AI Chatbot Saved One Man’s Human Marriage

  • Meet the Humans Forming Romantic Relationships With AI

    Replika Romance: Meet the Humans Forming Romantic Relationships With AI

  • The future of sex is mind-reading AI that reveals your deepest, most unconscious fantasies

    The Future of Sex Is Mind-Reading AI That Reveals Your Deepest, Most Unconscious Fantasies

  • Sex Robots Are Getting Closer to Feeling Human-Like With Second Skin Materials

    Sex Robots Are Getting Closer to Feeling Human-Like With Second Skin Materials

  • R/gonewildaudio's gender inclusive audio erotica

    /R/gonewildaudio: An Array of Free, Inclusive and Categorized Audio Erotica

  • Fantasy Inspired Sex Toy by Tentickle Toys

    Out of This World: How Fantasy-Inspired Sex Toys Could Be the Next Big Trend

  • Virtual Sex in the Metaverse

    Virtual Sex Will Soon Become a Reality in the Metaverse

  • OnlyBans Game Play As A Sex Worker

    Play as a Sex Worker in New Onlybans Game

  • Black chess pieces laying across an orange background.

    Teledildonics and Chess: The Unexpected Possibilities That Could Enhance Sex

  • A couple with a woman sitting on a man's lap. They each are holding the Tenuto 2 with one hand.

    Tenuto 2 Erection-Enhancing Vibrator Rises To The Occasion

  • Woman looking at a laptop in a bed. You can see a blurry European city outside of the window.

    Here’s How Often Each European Country Is Searching For Sex Toys Online

  • A Woman Showing Her Smartphone.

    Disclosing Trans-ness on Dating Apps

  • Image of Emma the AI bot.

    Will Young Women of the Future Feel Pressure to Perform Like Robots?

  • Realistic Sex Games

    Review of the Best Sex Games and Most Realistic Sex Simulators of 2021 [UPDATED]

    0
  • Multiplayer Online Sex Games

    Review of the Best Massively Multiplayer Online Sex Games

    0
  • Sex Games for Mac

    The Best Sex Games for Mac

    0
  • foot-fetish-sex-games-girlvania

    Foot Fetish Games That Will Knock Your Socks Off

    0
  • The Best RPG Sex Games of 2021

    0
Fantasy sex game Dream Sex World lets you explore your wildest desires.
Multiplayer sex world Red Light Center continues to impress with its massive userbase and incredible sex graphics.
A blonde and light-skinned love doll face sppears next to the text Go now realdollxthe future is real.
  • 27KFollowers

Like Us on Facebook

Newsletter Subscription

Sign up for our monthly newsletter sharing the very best of the future of sex from our publication and others across the web.

DreamSexWorld offers a stunning XXX 3D world filled with incredibly interactive erotic experiences.

Like Us On Facebook

Facebook Pagelike Widget

RLC_ad_v2

Tweets by @FutureofSex
Future of Sex Report

Follow us

  • Home
  • About
  • ADVERTISE
  • Contribute
  • Story Ideas
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
© 2011 - 2022 Future Exploration Network
This website or its third-party tools use cookies to improve user experience and track affiliate sales. To learn more about why we need to use cookies, please refer to the Privacy Policy.

By clicking the agree button or continuing to browse through the website, you agree to the use of cookies. Accept Privacy Policy
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
SAVE & ACCEPT