Mountain View, Calif.-based E-Stamp Corp., which said last November it would exit the Internet postage business, is selling its patents and other intellectual property rights as well as the E-Stamp name and E-Stamp.com domain to former rival Stamps.com. Last week E-Stamp moved to jettison its transportation management solutions business and get into the corporate e-learning market through a merger with learning services provider Learn2.com.

Santa Monica, Calif.-based Stamps.com said it acquired a portfolio of 31 patents and trademarks largely related to Internet-based postage printing and management. Financial terms were not disclosed,

"Combined with our existing intellectual property assets, the E-Stamp patents and trademarks provide us with a technology portfolio and brand recognition that places the company solidly at the forefront of Internet postage providers," said Stamps.com CEO Bruce Coleman.

Stamps.com said it plans to use the E-Stamp assets to expand the services available to its customer base and target a market of 10 million small businesses and home offices in the United States.

Stamps.com's Internet Postage app enables customers to print U.S. Postal Service-approved postage via a computer and Internet connection. Formed in 1994, E-Stamp was the first company to receive USPS approval to offer postage over the Internet, but was never able to make much money doing it.