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PORTLAND, OR USA
PORTLAND, Ore., July 27 /PRNewswire/ -- The United States Patent andTrademark Office ("PTO") issued a notice upholding all claims ofCollegeNET's US patent no. 6,460,042 (the '042 patent) and closing itsreexamination of that patent. These claims include 31 claims unchanged fromthe original patent granted by the PTO in 2002, 13 claims voluntarilyamended by CollegeNET, and 9 new claims added by CollegeNET during thereexamination procedure. This latest and important action by the PTOreaffirms and strengthens CollegeNET's intellectual property rights to keytechnology and processes which underlie, among other things, the modernprocessing of web-based admissions applications for colleges anduniversities by commercial servicers. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990810/NYFNSP04) This latest win by CollegeNET is a major step towards crumbling thevarious legal roadblocks erected by proven and alleged infringers in theircontinuing attempt to sustain unauthorized and unpaid usage of CollegeNET'svalid intellectual property. Infringement of CollegeNET's '042 patent byApplyYourself, Inc. of Fairfax, VA has already been proven in federal courtand upheld on appeal to the Federal Circuit. Nonetheless, payment of over$1 million in damages by ApplyYourself to CollegeNET for past infringementof the '042 patent has been forestalled owing to various legal maneuveringsby ApplyYourself, XAP Corporation, The Common Application, and ThePrinceton Review. One such maneuver -- a request for "ex partereexamination" of the '042 patent by The Princeton Review -- led to theproceedings which have now been ended by the PTO. While the PTO's affirmation of the '042 patent reinforces damagesawarded to CollegeNET in the CollegeNET vs. ApplyYourself case, it does notimpact the $8.5 million in damages awarded to CollegeNET in October, 2006in the CollegeNET vs. XAP case. Those damages pertained to XAP'sinfringement of a separate patent of CollegeNET known as the '278 patentand to XAP's unfair competition in violation of the Lanham Act. Nor doesthe PTO's decision affect the judge's decision last March to awardreasonable attorneys' fees to CollegeNET in view of XAP's willfullydeceptive misconduct. Tiffany Souza, CollegeNET associate vice president and corporatecounsel, stated, "The PTO's decision on the '042 patent is an importantaffirmation of the validity of CollegeNET's intellectual property rights.It was CollegeNET's innovation and risk-taking beginning ten years ago thatpaved the way for the widespread acceptance of the web for applying tocollege. By using the application processing services powered byCollegeNET's patented technology, our customers don't have to worry aboutthe operational, payment, and security risks related to hosting web-basedapplications." Ms. Souza continued, "Now that the claims of the '042 patenthave been confirmed, perhaps infringers will take note and get out ofdenial mode." About CollegeNET, Inc. CollegeNET, Inc. is focused on web-based, on-demand technologies thatsave institutions money and improve educational access and affordabilityfor citizens. The company provides innovations in event and academicscheduling, decision support, admissions, web-based tuition processing,prospect management, alumni development, and course evaluation to colleges,universities, and nonprofits worldwide. More than 1,000 institutions useCollegeNET solutions. The company is headquartered in Portland, OR. For more information, please contact Paul Casey, Director of CorporateCommunications, CollegeNET. Phone: 503.973.5200. Fax: 503.973.5252. (C) 2007 CollegeNET, Inc.
