Tulsa-based app developer MacroSolve, Inc. has sued companies like AT&T, Citigroup, Dell, Groupon, Living Social and SalesForce in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas for infringing on its patents, according to a report by Tulsa World.
MacroSolve was recently awarded a patent for the method of creating an app, sending it to mobile devices and then using it to collect information about users. Going by its broadest definition, it pretty much covers the entire spectrum of apps available today and it’s no surprise that the company is going after industry heavyweights, hoping to earn a nice pot in settlements.
The company had previously been in the news for suing thirty independent app developers over patent #7,822,816, the same one it’s basing its current lawsuit on. Jim McGill, MacroSolve’s vice chairman, said that it hoped to earn a “reasonable settlement” out of the lawsuit—in the tune of $30 − 40 million.
MacroSolve plans to go after 250 more companies that it has identified as breaching its patent after this case is settled. Of course, with targets as capable of defending themselves as AT&T and Dell, it has an uphill battle on its hands.
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