12/01/2011

Un brevet accordé pour le couponing géolocalisé: Poynt

Poynt snags location-based patent for serving up personalized offers

Poynt, a location-based mobile search engine from Multiplied Media, today announced it has been granted a patent, first filed in 2000, for delivering offers and coupons to a mobile user based on GPS location and information from the user’s profile, according to a company announcement.
Available on the iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry, Poynt lets users search for services and products, and it provides results based on their location at the time of the search. The patent will help to protect this feature and create a barrier of entry for competitors.
The company launched its Offer Engine for local businesses recently at VentureBeat’s DEMO Fall 2010 event. The advertising tool makes it easy for local businesses to sign-up and push promotions to potential customers nearby.
Patent number 7,870,229 states:
A computer-implemented method for communicating an offer of goods or services to an individual having a microcomputer wirelessly linked to the internet and provided with a GPS receiver, the method comprising: receiving over the internet, from the microcomputer, location information derived from the GPS receiver and information identifying the individual; using the location information and the identifying information in a programmed computer in communication with a data bank of goods and services and a data bank of consumer profiles to determine an appropriate offer of goods or services for the individual; and thereupon, under the control of the programmed computer and without specific request by the individual, sending to the microcomputer over the internet using an identifier unique to the individual a message communicating the offer.
The new patent may be a major win for Poynt, especially with competition heading up around location-based services and offering promotions. Major competitors like Foursqaure, Location Labs and Placecast could be affected if Poynt decides to use the patent aggressively. I’ve reached out to each of the company’s contacts to get their perspective on how this may affect their futures and will update the post when I hear back.
Multiplied Media is a publicly traded Canadian company founded in 2002. The Poynt mobile application has been around since 2008 and downloaded over 4.8 million times, according to the company.


Source: http://venturebeat.com/2011/01/12/poynt-patent/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Venturebeat+%28VentureBeat%29

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