IBM lines up Groupon in patent claim
Technology company IBM has accused online deals website Groupon of infringing four patents.
In the complaint, filed yesterday, March 2, IBM said Groupon has infringed its patents through websites under Groupon’s control and its app.
Two of the four patents, US numbers 5,796,967 and 5,961,601, are more than 15 years old.
The ‘967 patent tracks previous conversations online between a web user and a merchant, and the ‘601 patent covers technology related to web performance.
IBM also accused Groupon of infringing US patent number 7,072,849, issued in 2006, which covers technology related to online advertising, and US patent number 7,631,346, which protects technology that makes it easier for web users to connect to an internet provider.
All four patents were asserted by IBM against travel website manager The Priceline Group last year.
According to the most recent complaint, IBM has made repeated attempts to negotiate a licence with Groupon but the company has refused to take one.
Earlier this year, WIPR reported that IBM had topped the list of recipients of US patents in 2015. IBM was granted 7,355 patents in the calendar year, a slight dip compared to 2014’s total of 7,534. However, the company still topped the list for the 23rd year in succession.
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