The dispute initially arose in October 1998, when Coolsavings sued Planet U for offering on-line coupons to manufacturers and retailers. Coolsavings argued this infringed its patent for offering coupons to on-line and off-line retailers. Planet U responded by filing a similar action against them for patent infringement.
Both parties appear to be satisfied with the deal and Steven Golding, chief executive of Coolsavings, has commented that “the settlement shows the validity of our patent... it also shows that Coolsavings is more than willing to license our process. We’re not looking to stay in the courtrooms”.
This case is illustrative of the growing number of patent infringement cases brought in relation to internet activities. Indeed, Coolsavings is currently involved in a further five patent disputes and Amazon.com was caught up in another patent commotion when it patented its one-click shopping method.
The US Patent and Trade Mark Office claims to be increasing its scrutiny of business-method patents such as that of Amazon.com.