Intellectual Property Analysis of DataTreasury Corporation’s U.S. Patent No. 6,032,137

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – June 20, 2011 – M·CAM, Inc. released its Patently Obvious® report today on the patent holdings of DataTreasury Corporation.

In 1999 and 2000, DataTreasury Corporation received two business method patents covering its check-imaging technology. DataTreasury claims that it began negotiating a check-imaging joint venture with Chase Manhattan, but the bank launched a separate check image-processing venture called Viewpointe Archive Services, LLC.

DataTreasury, emboldened by what they call “iron clad patents” continued its litigious activities with renewed vigor. However, the banks weren’t just going to roll over. Just as the USPTO was revalidating DataTreasury’s patents, lobbyists representing the financial services industry advanced patent reform legislation, the latest iteration of which is the Patent Reform Act of 2011.

On March 8, 2011, the U.S. Senate approved a bill that makes significant changes to U.S. patent law, most notably a post-grant review proceeding to determine the validity of business method patents inserted by Senator Charles E. Schumer, the banking industries greatest congressional advocate. The proceeding is limited to petitioners who have been sued or charged with patent infringement. The House version, due to come up for a vote in the next few days is similar to the Senate bill, however, there are a few important differences. It limits the business method patent post-grant review solely to financial institutions. DataTreasury lobbyists are working diligently to remove Provision 18.

Using the M·CAM DOORS™ analytic platform, an intellectual property analysis of DataTreasury’s U.S. Patent No. 6,032,137 (hereafter ”˜137) was conducted in order to understand its strength and defensibility in the face of prior and concurrent art innovation. The innovation space surrounding the ”˜137 patent and its patent family members was examined to determine which patent or patents may provide alternatives to or alter the value of DataTreasury’s holdings.

M·CAM’s Patently Obvious® is a weekly report providing visibility into potentially unconsidered alternatives, including art in the public domain, to patent holdings across a variety of technology areas.

M·CAM, Inc. is a global, full-service intellectual property and rights (IP&R) and intangible asset financial services firm. We provide the technical and financial systems that allow public and private markets to use IP&R and IA for regulated transactions in banking, securities, insurance, and public innovation investment and technology procurement. From our pioneering work in creating the world’s first standards-based innovation collateralization financial products for banking and securities to our work in grassroots innovator enablement and patent quality assurance programs, M·CAM provides the mechanism to balance the interests of public and commercial sectors to support and build thriving economies.

The M·CAM Patently Obvious® report on the patent holdings of DataTreasury Corporation can be found HERE.