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.