WILMINGTON, Del. Global technology vendor Serverside Group has agreed to dismiss patent infringement claims against several credit unions and card service providers as part of a settlement of a suit over its card customization technology.
“My client just thought it was better to settle than to prolong the litgation,” said one lawyer involved in the suit who declined to be identified because he is not authorized to speak for his client.
Terms of the settlement are confidential but are believed to include payment of licensing fees by the defendants, according to sources involved in the two-year-old suit. In exchange, London-based Serverside has agreed to dismiss its patent claims against Credit Union1, Neighbors CU, Anheuser-Bush Employees’ CU, PSCU, The Members Group, CIP Card Group, JHA Payment Processing, DimpleDough and Eastern Bank.
Terms of the settlement are believed to be similar to those in a December 2011 settlement between Serverside CUSO Design One Creative, a Saginaw, Mich., credit union group that was among the original defendants in the suit.
Card customization allows credit unions and banks and their customers to personalize credit and/or debit cards with a user’s own photo or the logo of their favorite sports team, for example, and is increasingly popular among consumers.
Serverside provides card services in 27 countries to more than 200 clients, including RBS Group, ING, Fortis, BMW, and Heritage Building Society.
The various credit unions and other defendants were reluctant to comment on the settlement. “With the dismissal of the Serverside Group’s patent infringement lawsuit, PSCU is pleased this matter has been resolved with no current or future impact to the availability and use of our popular Design Your Own Card plastics solution," said a spokesman for PSCU. "DYOC gives our Member-Owner credit unions a key point of competitive differentiation that enables them to effectively engage, serve and delight their members. We look forward to continuing to empower our credit unions with this popular and successful innovation.”
