Nielsen and comScore Settle Suit Over Online Measurement Patents


The Nielsen Co. and comScore on Wednesday settled a lawsuit filed by the former over patents that Nielsen claimed comScore used without the companys consent.

As part of the deal, Nielsen has acquired $19 million in comScore restricted common stock with neutral voting requirements. In return, comScore gets ownership of the four Nielsen families of patents named in the suit. The companies have also agreed not to bring any patent actio! n agains t each other for the next three years.

Nielsen sued comScore in March over the patents, which relate to measuring and displaying online content. Nielsen cited more than 30 products that it claimed violated those patent rights. As Paid Content pointed out in March, suing comScore could have bogged both companies down in expensive litigation if they hadnt reached some sort of settlement.

Since the details of the arrangement open the door to more cooperation between the companies, Laura Martin, an analyst at Needham & Co. who covers Nielsen, says that a merger would be plausible. Its not outlandish, she says. Theyre both big measurement firms. But Martin says she doesnt know if such a merger would raise anti-trust concerns. Reps from Nielsen and comScore could not be reached for comment.

While Nielsen and comScore appear to have reached an amicable solution, the issue of patent ownership is still a pressing concern for some tech companies, namely Google, which waged a public war of words with Apple and Microsoft over the summer. At the time, the company claimed its competitors were stifling innovation by hoarding patents related to wireless technology. The patents bumped the price of every Android device up $15, David Drummond, svp and chief legal officer of Google, wrote at the time.

Patents were also a primary impetus for Googles $12.5 billion bid to buy Motorola Mobility in August. However, Googles problems with patents continued this week as the International Trade Commission ruled that some devices using Googles Android mobile OS violate Apple patents.

Image courtesy of Stockphoto, hronos7

More About: ComScore, Google, Nielsen, patents


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