A settlement has been reached in the patent dispute between SecureBuy, LLC, and Ohio-based CardinalCommerce Corporation. In November 2013, SecureBuy initiated a lawsuit against Cardinal in a federal court that contested the latter’s patents with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Both organizations deal in online security. SecureBuy, a security firm with an emphasis on safeguarding online purchases, has since acknowledged the validity of Cardinal’s patents and withdrawn its litigation. The issue concerned Cardinal’s inventions concerning the Universal Merchant Platform and its role in authenticating payments on the Internet.
Although sources did not disclose the terms of the settlement, both companies expressed satisfaction with the agreement. The CEO of SecureBuy stated that the company is looking forward to more productive business relations with Cardinal in the future, while the CEO of Cardinal emphasized his satisfaction that the company’s investment in its intellectual property has been affirmed. CardinalCommerce maintains its headquarters in Mentor.
Some forms of business litigation are essential to securing the future health of a company. For instance, unauthorized use of intellectual property can create an environment of unfair competition and deceptive trade practices that can come to threaten an organization’s growth and overall role in the marketplace. If such practices are suspected, it may be necessary to initiate some form of litigation to investigate the matter and remedy it if possible.
Similarly, an intellectual property dispute can also threaten a company’s well-being and potentially undermine the foundations upon which the organization is built. In a case such as this one, an attorney might be able to assist a company to review its accounts and delineate ownership of the intellectual property or patent that is in dispute.
Source: Crain’s Cleveland Business, “CardinalCommerce settles patent dispute lawsuit“, Scott Suttell, June 18, 2014
