Do you remember Prodigy, the online service that had many a mid-1990s user surfing the Internet, in the early days of the World Wide Web? IBM sure does, considering it holds patents for that dinosaur of the technological age, and is accusing Groupon of infringing on two patents that grew out of Prodigy, as well as a few others, in a new lawsuit.
IBM alleges in its lawsuit that online deals marketplace Groupon has infringed on four of its patents, including two that came out of Prodigy, which was launched by IBM and friends in the 1980s.
According to the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware (via PC World), Groupon has built its business model on the back of IBM’s patents.
“Despite IBM’s repeated attempts to negotiate, Groupon refuses to take a license, but continues to use IBM’s property,” IBM says.
The company is seeking the court to order Groupon to halt further infringement and pay damages.
This isn’t the first time IBM has gotten litigious over its patents: it sued online travel company Priceline and three subsidiaries.
IBM sues Groupon for infringing its patents, including from Prodigy online service [PC World]
by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist
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