Tom: There may be a lot we can find out. Here is a start.
from tbtf.com
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Updated: 1996-07-14
In the last 15 months [that is, April 1995 to July 1996] E-DATA (formerly Interactive Gift Express Inc., OTC: GIFT) has filed lawsuits against 43 companies alleging infringement of U.S. Patent No. 4,528,643, the so-called Freeny patent, and has sent notices of infringement to a further 139 companies. It sent offers of amnesty, without directly claiming infringement, to a reported 75,000 companies in June.
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from best.com
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E-Data claims it owns a patent for "the system for reproducing information in a material object at a point-of-sale location"... they are choosing to interpret this as covering software, data or services purchased on-line and/or off the Internet.... The patent dates back to 1985, before the existence of the Internet world we know today.
To date, they have settled with a number of major companies (including IBM, Adobe, VocalTech), and are currently suing 30-40 others (including CompuServe, Ziff-Davis, Dun & Bradstreet, Broderbund, Intuit). The article went on to say that the company was sending out 75,000 "Amnesty Packets" to companies it feels are infringing on the patent. The packet invites recipients to pay the appropriate licensing fee before August 1, 1996, or risk being sued.
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perhaps most important, take a look at this:
--- lawnewsnet.com
I suppose this just goes to show that a form S-1 discloses every conceivable issue about the company in the most conservative way.
Best wishes,
24601
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