Coolsavings.com
Inc. Monday sued competitor Emaginet Inc., charging the company
with violating its patented method of targeted marketing.
In the lawsuit filed in a Chicago federal court, CoolSavings charged
Bethesda, Md.-based Emaginet with offering consumer and advertiser services
that
infringe on a patent it was granted for its method of distributing coupons
over the Internet. Both companies send discount offers to their users based
on a profile created during the sign-up process.
“CoolSavings is proud to deliver innovative technologies and services to
help companies expand their businesses through targeted campaigns, while
answering consumer demand for privacy. To protect our position as an
industry leader — and the value of our research and development investment
— CoolSavings will continue to vigorously enforce our patent rights,” said
Steven M. Golden, CoolSavings’ chairman and chief executive officer.
CoolSavings, launched in mid-1997, has 1.6 million registered members.
“Our attorneys have looked at it and we’re confident we have not infringed
on this patent. We’re clearly the technology leaders and understand this is
a way for others to catch up,” said Emaginet spokesman Dadi Akhavan.