We've all heard about DataTreasury, but there are literally hundreds (if not thousands) of business method patents which pertain to the Payments Industry. Today, I came across one which claims to patent "Remote Deposit Capture"! Filed in 2007 (years after RDC started) and granted in 2010, here is an excerpt:

System And Method For Remote Deposit Capture - Patent 7720735
“A system includes one or more remote check deposit locations, and one or more treasury receipt servers to receive check information captured from the one or more remote check deposit locations, and to receive transaction data from an originating depository financial institution (ODFI), the transaction data including an amount of funds available from clearing the captured check information.”

For full details, see http://www.docstoc.com/docs/57791689/System-And-Method-For-Remote-Deposit-Capture---Patent-7720735

What’s your opinion? Are these types of patents valuable and productive for our industry / economy? Or are Business Method Patents out of control?

We had a page on the site with an accumulation of (now rather old, but still relevant background information) information about patents related to the payments industry. Here is a simple cut / copy / paste...

We recommend the following RDC Insider Articles:

• DataTreasury vs. The Banking Industry - New Lawsuit pits DataTreasury against over 50 defendants, including Bank of America, HSBC Bank, SVPCo., and First Data

  On February 24th 2006, DataTreasury, a small firm claiming it has a patent which covers image-based check clearing (and therefore Remote Deposit Capture), filed suit against over 50 banks, service and technology providers. This most recent filing is the largest effort DataTreasury has taken to defend its patent claims. Click here to view the article.

• Business Method Patents in Financial Services - A new toll booth on the Remote Deposit Capture superhighway?

  The proliferation of business method patents since the State Street Bank vs. Signature Financial Group ruling in 1998 threatens to stifle innovation and competition in the financial services industry. This ruling, which allowed Signature Financial Group to patent an operational processing method, has led to a substantial rise in the number of patents issued, and a substantial rise in lawsuits attempting to enforce these patents. JP Morgan Chase & NetDeposit's recent settlement & license agreements with DataTreasury are significant events for the Remote Deposit Capture Industry. Click here to download the pdf.

As a primer on patent issues in Financial Services, please read the following documents:

• Research Report by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia: BUSINESS METHOD PATENTS FOR U.S. FINANCIAL SERVICES

  (September 2007)

• "Patents Now Play an Important Role in the Financial Industry"

  from the American Banker, December 17 2004*.

• "Contending with Patents in Financial Services"

  from the National Law Journal, January 24, 2005.

• Small Company Is Specializing in Suing Banks

  from the New York Times, December 25, 2004

Additional Resources:

• Search for Patent Information at www.FreePatentsOnline.com

• Patent Office Validates a DataTreasury Image Exchange Patent(July 10, 2007)

• Supreme Court Patent Ruling Won’t Affect Us, DataTreasury Says

  (March 2, 2007)

• Diebold Licenses DataTreasury's Financial Transaction Patents

  (January 23, 2007)

• DataTreasury: Chump or Champ? Only time (and lots of it) will tell

  Commentary from RemoteDepositCapture.com (December 5, 2006)

• DataTreasury Vows USPTO Rejection Won’t Affect Pending Cases

  from DigitalTransactions.net (December 5, 2006)

• Patently Unaware

  from Bank Technology News (April 14, 2006)

• Settlement with NCR Positions DataTreasury to Move into ACH and Cards

  from DigitalTransactions.net (January 23, 2006)

• David Slays Another Goliath in Check-Imaging Infringement Cases

  from DigitalTransactions.net (November 7, 2005)

• How DataTreasury Could Become a Toll Collector in Check Imaging

  from DigitalTransactions.net (November 7, 2005)

• Small Company Sues Big Banks, Wins Big in Check 21 Technology Cases

  from DigitalTransactions.net (July 6, 2005)

• DataTreasury Corporation Files Lawsuits Against Bank of America, Citigroup, Wachovia and Wells Fargo

  July 6, 2005

• JPMorgan Chase and DataTreasury Corporation Settle Landmark Patent-Infringement Litigation

  July 6, 2005

• Visit the DataTreasury Website

• Read the 2 original DataTreasury Patents, U.S. Patent No. 5,910,988 and U.S. Patent No. 6,032,137.

• DataTreasury was part of the Incube8 portfolio of companies

• Incube8 is managed by Daymark Capital Advisors

• Peter Zura's Patent Blog which mentions DataTreasury as a company to watch back in January 2005.

• December 2001 article on DataTreasury in Global Finance Magazine.

• Mention of DataTreasury in January 2002 article in Treasury & Risk Management. Focus: BioMetric security.

• 1998 Article on the State Street vs. Signature Business Method decision

  the ruling which gave business method patents (at least temporary) credibility.

• 2004 article covering business method patent lawsuits & settlements on MSNBC.com.

Current Vendors & Banks who have settled with and / or have agreements with DataTreasury:

• Merrill Lynch
• Diebold
• NCR
• Groupe Ingenico
• JP Morgan Chase
• Community Banking Systems
• RDM Corporation
• NetDeposit
• Bank Hapoalim B.M. of Israel
• Computer Associates
• ACS of Dallas