Groupon to Pay IBM $57 Million to Settle US Patent Dispute

Advertisement
By Reuters | Updated: 3 October 2018 10:08 IST
Highlights
  • Lawsuit alleged Groupon used patented technology without authorisation
  • A jury sided with IBM in July, ordering Groupon to pay $83 million
  • Settlement included patent cross-license agreement between the companies

Online marketplace Groupon on Monday said it would pay $57 million (roughly Rs. 418 crores) to International Business Machines Corp to settle an intellectual property dispute.

IBM's lawsuit, filed in US court in Delaware in 2016, alleged Groupon used IBM's patented e-commerce technology without authorisation.

A jury sided with IBM in July, ordering Chicago-based Groupon to pay $83 million in damages.

Advertisement

The settlement also included a long-term patent cross-license agreement between the companies.

Advertisement

William Lafontaine, IBM's general manager of intellectual property, said in a statement the deal demonstrates the value of the intellectual property the Armonk, New York-based company derives from its annual investment of more than $5 billion in research and development.

Bill Roberts, Groupon's vice president of global communications, said in a statement that the license it acquired to IBM's patent portfolio "will enable Groupon to continue to build amazing products for consumers and small businesses around the world."

Advertisement

During the trial, IBM had asked the jury to award $167 million in damages, saying it developed widely licensed technology crucial to the development of the internet.

Two of the IBM patents at issue in the case relate to Prodigy, a late-1980s precursor to the web.

Advertisement

The case was closely watched in the technology industry because it offered a glimpse into IBM's efforts to license its large patent portfolio to other companies.

An IBM licensing executive testified that Amazon, Facebook, Alphabet's Google, LinkedIn, and Twitter have each paid IBM $20 million to $50 million as part of cross-licensing deals that gave them access to the patent portfolio.

In 2017, IBM generated about $1.2 billion in revenue from its licensing activities.

During the trial, Groupon's lawyer portrayed IBM as using outdated patents to squeeze money out of other tech companies with threats of litigation.

Groupon on September 19 had asked a judge to throw out or reduce the verdict, calling it unsupported by the evidence.

© Thomson Reuters 2018

 

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: IBM, US
Advertisement

Related Stories

Popular Mobile Brands
  1. Realme 15T 5G India Launch Today: All You Need to Know
  1. BCCI Says Crypto, Real Money Gaming Platforms Can’t Bid for Team India’s Title Sponsorship
  2. Scientists Discover Hidden Mantle Layer Beneath the Himalayas Challenging Century-Old Theory
  3. Astronomers Propose Rectangular Telescope to Hunt Earth-Like Planets
  4. Microsoft Testing Native Clipboard Sync Feature to Share Text Between Windows PCs, Android Devices
  5. Su From So OTT Release: When and Where to Watch This Kannada-Language Horror-Comedy Online
  6. Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless 80th Anniversary Edition Launched in India With Up to 60 Hour Battery Life
  7. Call of Duty Film Adaption Said to Be a 'Priority' at Paramount, Negotiations on to Acquire Rights
  8. Cannibal Solar Storm May Trigger Auroras as Powerful Geomagnetic Storm to Hit Earth Soon
  9. Apple's iPhone 8 Plus Listed as Vintage Product Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch, 11-Inch MacBook Air Now Obsolete
  10. Hidden Reason Behind Portugal’s Deadly Earthquakes Finally Explained
Gadgets 360 is available in
Download Our Apps
Available in Hindi
© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2025. All rights reserved.