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Tuesday, December 05, 2006
(RemoteDepositCapture.com)
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We've heard from many people in the RDC Industry about the DataTreasury Patents and related lawsuits, and in general, the reaction to this recent USPTO Examiner opinion has been, well, overly-euphoric. It seems the majority of the industry views the DataTreasury patents as an obstacle in the overall progress and evolution of the industry, and this recent news clears the path. If only it were that simple.
As mentioned in the below article, DataTreasury has the right to appeal any decision to overturn the patents, potentially all the way up to the Supreme Court. In addition, each challenge and / or ruling against DataTreasury potentially provides the necessary information DataTreasury needs to strengthen their patent claims.
The bottom line is this: The industry is still in the very early phases of what will surely be a long, drawn-out legal battle. DataTreasury does own patents issued by the USPTO. They are valid patents, at least for now. DataTreasury claims they apply to (in basic terms) the process of imaging, archiving and clearing images of financial transactions. Those companies they drag into court clearly do not agree with their claims. Even companies who have settled with DataTreasury may not believe the patents are valid, but from a business perspective, it may be less costly to just settle.
To use boxing as an analogy, DataTreasury knew what they were getting into when they got into the ring. Each side will throw some punches, and each side will be dealt some blows. This recent news seems like a blow to DataTreasury, but we're only in the 3rd round of a 10-round fight.