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Pitney Bowes Presses Intellectual Property Claims
STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 18, 1999-Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE: PBI) announced today that it has filed suit against Stamps.com Inc. of Santa Monica, Calif., in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware. The complaint charges Stamps.com with infringement of Pitney Bowes patents.
A spokesperson for the company, Sheryl Y. Battles, Executive
Director, External Affairs, said: "Pitney Bowes has attempted to reach
a negotiated solution with Stamps.com to avoid litigation and allow
them to use Pitney Bowes patented inventions in their product. Though
we have met and exchanged correspondence over a significant period of
time, agreement was not reached on the outstanding issues.
"Pitney Bowes remains committed to finding common ground in which
we can grant patent licenses to Stamps.com and other firms which fully
and fairly compensates Pitney Bowes for its intellectual property.
But, in the absence of that solution, our obligation to protect Pitney
Bowes technology investments and safeguard shareholder value requires
that we take this action."
Pitney Bowes has a long-standing practice of licensing its
intellectual property, making pioneering technology, including key
postage meter inventions, accessible to the marketplace worldwide.
With more than 3,000 patents worldwide, Pitney Bowes is renowned for
numerous inventions and improvements in mailing and paper handling
technologies and is the inventor of many of the innovative
technologies used in computer and virtual metering.
Pitney Bowes is a $4.2 billion global provider of informed mail
and messaging management. For more information about the company,
visit www.pitneybowes.com.
--30--tia/ny* CONTACT: Pitney Bowes Media Relations Media - Alicia Sherry 203/351-6477 or Financial - Charles F. McBride Exec. Director, Investor Relations 203/351-6349 KEYWORD: CONNECTICUT INDUSTRY KEYWORD: COMED INTERACTIVE/MULTIMEDIA/INTERNET COMPUTERS/ELECTRONICS TELECOMMUNICATIONS