Crakmedia Network

Crakmedia Network
IndustryOnline advertising
Founded2006
FounderNicolas Chrétien, Xavier Farooghi, Frédéric Hains
HeadquartersQuebec City, Canada

Crakmedia Network is a Canadian company headquartered in Quebec City. It specializes in various Internet-related services.[1][2][3]

History

Crakmedia Network was founded by Nicolas Chrétien, Xavier Farooghi, and Frédéric Hains in 2006. Chrétien, Farooghi, and Hains had also created a humor site in 2004.[4] After refusing a company purchase offer from Brad Greenspan, they attempted to develop the site into a video sharing platform before eventually focusing on traffic monetization and programming their own statistics and advertising campaign management tool.[5] Crakmedia Network moved to a new office in the Saint-Roch district of Quebec City in 2014. It collaborated with architectural firm Parka on the new office's layout.[6] In 2015, Farooghi decided to step down from his position at Crakmedia Network, and Chrétien purchased his shares in the company.[7] By 2016, the company had 17,000 affiliate customers, with 98% of the company’s business coming from abroad.[1][7] Crakmedia was ranked 31st in Deloitte’s Canadian Technology Fast 50 and 242nd in its Technology Fast 500 list in 2015.[8][9] In 2018, the company won the SME of the year at the Mercuriades gala from Federation of Quebec Chambers of Commerce.[10] Crakmedia partnered with the Centre Durocher community center to provide Christmas gifts to underprivileged children in Lower Town Quebec in 2021.[11]

Patent lawsuit and controversy

Patent lawsuit

In 2014, Essociate, Inc. filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Crakmedia Network, alleging that Crakmedia Network's internet advertising system infringed upon Essociate's ‘660 Patent.[12][13] Essociate had also sued companies such as Clickbooth for infringement of this patent.[14] In 2015, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ruled in favor of Crakmedia Network, invalidating Essociate's patent based on Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank.[15]

2025 Kansas lawsuit

In May 2025, a Kansas mother filed a lawsuit in a Kansas court against Crakmedia and two other companies, alleging that her 14-year-old son had accessed adult webcam websites marketed as Jerkmate and JerkmateLive. The complaint alleged that Crakmedia was responsible for the marketing and branding of Jerkmate, and that minors visiting the sites were immediately exposed to adult sexual content with no age verification beyond a checkbox confirming that the user was 18. The plaintiff sought more than US$75,000 (about CA$100,000) in damages for alleged psychological harm and related medical treatment. Crakmedia asked the court to dismiss the case, arguing that it had no business ties to Kansas. The other defendants named in the report were ICF Technology and Accretive Technology Group.[16]

Public subsidy controversy

In 2025, the Government of Quebec said it intended to recover a CA$100,000 subsidy granted to Crakmedia in 2024 under the Essor program administered by Investissement Québec. Christine Fréchette, then minister responsible for the economy, described the situation as unacceptable after reporting that the company, publicly presented as a performance-marketing firm, operated primarily in adult-content promotion. A ministry spokesperson cited a policy under which businesses whose main activities are related to sexual exploitation are ineligible for financial aid. Investissement Québec sent a letter of intent to reclaim the funds. The same reporting stated that the company had previously received nearly CA$150,000 in subsidies between 2017 and 2019 through Investissement Québec’s Exportation program.[17]

Awards

Crakmedia was a finalist for the 2015 Prix Rayonnement hors Québec at Fidéides.[18] Crakmedia was also named one of L'Actualité’s 2015 Leaders, ranked as the 6th-fastest growing company in Quebec.[7] It was also named a Leader by L'Actualité in 2016, ranked as the 16th-fastest-growing company in Quebec.[1] Crakmedia was a finalist for the 2016 Mercuriades Awards in the category “Contribution to Economic and Regional Development - Large Company.”[19]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Nadeau, Jean-Benoît (2016-09-21). "LEADERS 2016: Crakmedia". L’actualité (in Canadian French). Retrieved 2022-03-03.
  2. ↑ "Crakmedia offre un voyage au Mexique à ses 100 employés". Le Quotidien (in French). 2017-12-07. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
  3. ↑ Tremblay, Diane. "Crakmedia craint les impacts de la pénurie de main-d'œuvre". Le Journal de Québec. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
  4. ↑ "Leaders du changement". Guide Entrepreneur. 2016-04-08. p. 8-13. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
  5. ↑ "PME en croissance: Nucleom au 1er rang à Québec". Le Soleil (in French). 2017-11-17. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
  6. ↑ "Aires ouvertes et aquariums géants chez Crakmedia". lesaffaires.com (in French). 2016-04-30. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
  7. 1 2 3 Mercier, Noémi (2015-10-06). "Leaders 2015: Crakmedia". L’actualité (in Canadian French). Retrieved 2022-03-03.
  8. ↑ "Technology Fast 50 ™ winners" (PDF). deloitte.com. 2018. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
  9. ↑ "Deloitte's 2015 Technology Fast 500 Powerful connections" (PDF). Deloitte. 2015.
  10. ↑ "Crakmedia choisie PME de l'année". Le Soleil (in French). 2018-05-13. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  11. ↑ Gingras, Pierre. "Entraide et solidarité". Le Journal de Québec. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  12. ↑ "Essociate, Inc. v. 4355768 Canada Inc., SACV 14-0679 JVS (DFMx) | Casetext Search + Citator". casetext.com. Archived from the original on March 2, 2022. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
  13. ↑ "Fed. Circ. Skeptical Of Arguments To Restore Web Patent - Law360". www.law360.com. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
  14. ↑ "Fed. Circ. Affirms Axing Of Web Referral Patent Under Alice - Law360". www.law360.com. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
  15. ↑ "E-Commerce Traffic Patent Invalid Under Alice, Judge Rules - Law360". www.law360.com. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
  16. ↑ Lamontagne, Nora T. (2025-10-06). "«Souffrance et douleurs psychologiques»: une PME québécoise poursuivie pour avoir exposé un Américain de 14 ans à de la porno". Le Journal de Montréal (in French). Retrieved 2026-08-25.
  17. ↑ Lamontagne, Nora T. (2025-10-06). "Québec veut récupérer 100 000$ d'une agence de marketing spécialisée dans la porno". Le Journal de Montréal (in French). Retrieved 2026-08-25.
  18. ↑ "Lauréats des Prix Rayonnement Hors Québec | CCIQ". www.cciquebec.ca. Retrieved 2022-05-01.
  19. ↑ Tremblay, Diane. "De la musique d'ambiance sur mesure avec JukeBoxEnLigne.com". Le Journal de Montréal. Retrieved 2022-05-01.
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