CoolSavings.com Inc. in Chicago
filed a
federal lawsuit against Emaginet
Inc., claiming infringement of its
patent for an “Interactive Marketing Network and Process Using Electronic
Certificates.”
The lawsuit charges that Maryland-based Emaginet has offered consumer and
advertiser services that infringe on the CoolSavings patent for distributing
printed and electronic coupons via the Internet.
The CoolSavings system “is the first to provide target marketing capabilities
to advertisers and still protect the privacy of consumers,” the company said.
CoolSavings claims a database of 1.6 million registered shoppers.
Emaginet offers what it calls “e-centives” with merchants ranging from Tower
Records to Crutchfield. “Through e-centives unique filtering system, digital
coupons are
automatically delivered, stored and ready for you to redeem online or print
out and shop offline,” the Web site stated.
“Our attorneys have looked at (the
lawsuit) and we’re confident we have not infringed on this patent,” said
Emaginet spokesman Dadi Akhavan. “We’re clearly the technology leaders and
understand this is a way for others to
catch up.”
“To protect our position as an industry leader–and the value of our
research and
development investments–CoolSavings will continue to vigorously enforce our
patent rights,” said Steven M. Golden, chairman and CEO of CoolSavings.com.
The CoolSavings system allows advertisers or coupon issuers to target printed
or electronic coupons to a specific consumer profile. Although advertisers may
use a range of household characteristics to target the offer, they do not know
the names, addresses or e-mail addresses of the individuals they target.
