VW QR Campaign With NeoMedia & DIMOCO

Volkswagen has kicked off an innovative QR code campaign with NeoMedia Technologies and DIMOCO which is currently running in several Austrian magazines.

Readers of the magazines are linked to the NeoReader download site and will receive a VW-Scirocco Video when they scan the printed QR code.

This is the first mobile code campaign worldwide where the reader download and the content download are free for operators T-Mobile and Mobilkom Austria covering 2/3 of all Austrian subscribers.

NeoMedia Presents Case Study On Patent Win

Case Study by Barkume and Associates

Barkume Wins Patent Reexam For NeoMedia

Barkume and Associates has successfully defended the ex parte reexamination of U.S. Patent No. 6,199,048, System and Method for Automatic Access of a Remote Computer Over a Network. All pending claims of the patent under reexamination have been indicated to be patentable by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) in its decision issued earlier this week.

Reexamination is a process in which any member of the public may request the PTO to reconsider if a patent should have been granted, in view of new information that was not considered when the PTO first examined the patent. In an ex parte reexamination the requesting party submits this "newly-discovered prior art" to the PTO, which decides if it justifies reexamining the patent. In this case the PTO decided to reexamine the '048 patent, but ultimately agreed with us that that the patent was not invalid.

In 2001, the PTO granted the '048 patent to Neomedia Technologies, Inc. The '048 patent covers the use of machine readable indicia to access a database in which a pointer to an information resource (such as a URL) is extracted and used to establish communication with the resource. For example, a bar code such as a UPC code may be imaged and decoded by a client device, and the bar code data is then transmitted over the Internet to a web server that looks up a URL associated with that UPC bar code data. The extracted URL is then returned to the client device, which then uses that URL to communicate with the associated web site via its browser. Several other embodiments are disclosed and claimed in the '048 patent such as the use of audible signals and RF identification.

In 2007, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed a request for the PTO to reexamine the '048 patent based on numerous prior art references it submitted that allegedly rendered the '048 patent claims invalid. The reexamination request was filed as part of EFF's "Patent Busting" project, a sensationalist effort to invalidate patents it deems to be "bogus" and a "crime against the public domain". The PTO granted the request, which is not unusual given its mandate to ensure that patents it issues are in fact valid. In July 2008, the PTO issued an Office action in which the '048 claims were rejected based on the prior art submitted.

Our office went to work immediately by reviewing the PTO's rejections and the newly-submitted prior art. We summarily concluded that the prior art simply did not bear on the inventions in the '048 patent. We then proceeded to conduct an in person interview with a three-Examiner panel at the PTO in August 2008. At the conference, we explained the inventions of the '048 patent and how the newly discovered prior art had no relevance. We then submitted a written amendment to clarify the language of the claims and consolidate them. Ultimately, the PTO agreed with our position regarding the patentability of the '048 inventions.

On February 17, 2009, the PTO publicly announced its complete agreement with our position regarding the inventions in the '048 patent by issuing a "Notice of Intent to Issue Ex-Parte Reexamination Certificate". This terminates the reexamination completely in favor of Neomedia, since it provides that all pending claims are patentable and will publish shortly in a Reexamination Certificate. This decision cannot be appealed by EFF or any other third party.

As a result, we have successfully defended the challenge brought by EFF against the'048 patent as part of its "Patent Busting" project. The '048 patent has withstood the intense scrutiny of the reexamination process, in which the Examiners reviewed not only the numerous prior art references submitted by EFF, but also those that it may have uncovered in its own follow-up searches. The claims of the '048 patent as clarified once again will enjoy the presumption of validity and have been strengthened as a result of the process.

NeoMedia Wins Patent Reexamination

NeoMedia Technologies, the global leader in camera-initiated barcode transactions for mobile devices, announced today that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has ruled in favor of NeoMedia in the reexamination of its U.S. Patent No. 6,199,048, System And Method For Automatic Access Of A Remote Computer Over A Network. All ninety-five claims of this Barcode Look up Patent have been confirmed as being patentable by the PTO.

The PTO’s re-validation of this patent provides tremendous opportunities for companies in the mobile advertising space, allowing them to unify and quickly move forward to implement new applications and services.

“This is excellent news for NeoMedia as it allows us to move forward with our vision to create strong partnerships and synergies to align all companies for the next growth phase,” said Iain McCready, chief executive officer of NeoMedia Technologies, Inc. “We are committed to building a fully involved and collaborative ecosystem of agencies, mobile operators, and vendors who recognize the potential of mobile barcode advertising.”

"We are pleased that this patent has withstood the intense scrutiny of the PTO's re-examination process, in which numerous additional prior art references were considered in detail by the PTO Examiners before confirming all ninety-five claims as being patentable", said Tony Barkume of Barkume & Associates, P.C., patent counsel for NeoMedia. "The approval indicated by the PTO in its Notice of Intent to Issue a Re-examination Certificate has confirmed the strength and validity of the '048 patent in the face of such a heightened challenge."

In keeping with its vision and commitment to developing an interoperable global ecosystem, NeoMedia is licensing its technology to foster innovation in the creation of exciting new mobile barcode applications and services for the advertising industry.

NeoMedia embraces the development of open standards for 1D and 2D barcode technologies, and provides a global infrastructure to resolve these barcodes across multiple carriers. The company’s ecosystem ensures that all parties involved in the transaction are accurately compensated by pre-defined business rules. Through NeoMedia’s complete solution, media & advertising companies, consumers, businesses, mobile operators and OEMs can harness wireless networks to perform commerce more easily and securely, and ensure monetization can occur reliably and accurately.

NeoMedia Launches Innovative New Website

Click here to visit the new website

NeoMedia Participating In Mobile World Congress

NeoMedia Technologies, the global leader in camera-initiated barcode transactions for mobile devices, will be attending this years GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain from February 16th through the 19th.

The Mobile World Congress features the very latest in technology, services, and developments, bringing to life the promise of mobile broadband for all and defining the industry's path to continued growth. The Congress brings together the eminent leaders and personalities from mobile operators and equipment vendors, as well as those from the Internet and the world of entertainment. The Mobile World Congress provides a one-stop-shop for everyone looking to understand what will drive the success of the mobile industry over the next year.

NeoMedia's CEO Iain McCready will be participating in a four hour session at the Mobile World Congress on Thursday February 19th in Hall 5, Auditorium 3. The session, Mobile Advertising - Moving to the Strategic Level, will include speakers from JumpTap, Turkcell, Telstra, BMW, and QUALCOMM. This innovative session will examine the hurdles the industry faces regarding privacy and permission, metrics and measurement and integrating new technologies into the mobile portfolio. Views from operators, agencies, publishers and brands will give attendees an unrivaled insight into the mobile advertising industry today.

NeoMedia offers the tools and infrastructure for wireless carriers, mobile phone manufactures, brands and media companies to make optical messaging and its associated commerce easy, universal, and reliable - worldwide.

NeoMedia Partners With Texas Nameplate

NeoMedia Technologies, the global leader in camera-initiated barcode transactions for mobile devices, has been selected by Texas Nameplate, a leading manufacturer of specialized metal nameplates for a wide range of industries, to help launch its new range of fully customizable, digitally-enabled products.

Texas Nameplate has chosen NeoMedia’s NeoReader® 2D barcode scanning solution to power its new Digital Nameplate™ products. Digital Nameplate is a brand-new product that allows users to electronically download information from a metal nameplate via a mobile device. It uses the chemical etch process to embed customizable data in a 2D matrix format, allowing users to read data quickly and easily, through any mobile device enabled with the downloadable NeoReader software.

"We are very excited to partner with NeoMedia Technologies and bring this ground-breaking capability to the market," says Dale Crownover, President of Texas Nameplate. "NeoMedia Technologies and Texas Nameplate will co-develop standards and identify new markets for this technology. Our collaborative efforts will propel a traditional manufacturing product into the twenty first century, where information can be accessed and shared anywhere, at any time. New applications of this technology will have a significant impact on customer care, asset tracking, inventory control, compliance, and many more."

Digital Nameplates can dramatically reduce reading errors, enhance traceability of products, and make long term data storage and retrieval possible. This new technology is currently patent-pending, and delivers an industry first into what is becoming an increasingly popular market.

"The partnership with Texas Nameplate is a fantastic opportunity for NeoMedia Technologies and represents another significant commercial application of our barcode scanning solutions,” said Iain McCready, Chief Executive Officer at NeoMedia Technologies. "It is yet another exciting and innovative integration of 2D barcoding and further demonstrates just how adaptable our technology can be. In this case, we will provide customers instant access to significant information in an intuitive and easy-to-use method - speeding up business processes and delivering significant efficiency gains to all parties involved."

The NeoReader application can be easily downloaded onto any camera-enabled mobile device. Users can then scan barcodes and access mobile content in one easy click. This enables the mobile to link directly to a specific web page, access new services, retrieve real-time information, or place orders by bypassing long URLs, search engines, and cumbersome menus.