Press Release

clickbooth affiliate marketingInvalidates Essociate Affiliate Pooling Patent Claims Again!

Sarasota, FL – Clickbooth is pleased to announce that on March 11, 2016, during the appeal of the Essociate, Inc. v. Clickbooth.com, LLC suit, the Federal Circuit Panel unanimously affirmed the prior decision in favor of Clickbooth which effectively invalidated Essociate’s affiliate pooling patent.

Essociate has used its patent to sue more than 20 companies in the affiliate industry. While many other companies find it easier to simply settle the case, Clickbooth chose to take a stand for the industry and invest the resources to defeat Essociate.  Last February, Clickbooth defeated Essociate in the first round of the patent battle.

Essociate filed an appeal and again, Clickbooth stepped up to the challenge. During the appeal oral arguments, Federal Circuit and Lead Judge Hughes said he was not convinced that Essociate had demonstrated patentability of its improvements on the Web merchant referral system, which is itself likely unpatentable. This week the appellate court affirmed U.S. District Judge James V. Selna’s 2015 ruling that Essociate’s claims were without merit.

Clickbooth counsel Richard Newman said that the company was pleased with the ruling, obviously a great result for Clickbooth but also for all the other participants in the industry, saying “This ruling is a victory for Internet marketing companies who should not have to face patents directed to fundamental economic practices”.

Clickbooth CEO, Erin Cigich, commented, “Clickbooth’s triumph over this appeal proves that the interests of the affiliate marketing industry are worth fighting for and protecting, something we will continue to do to help our industry grow”.

About Clickbooth
Clickbooth, The Performance Exchange, is a technology company that takes a programmatic approach to traditional performance marketing resulting in zero risk and higher returns for clients. The company’s proprietary and patent pending performance exchange provides advertisers looking for new customer acquisitions access to the largest distribution network of online marketing experts, specializing in display, social, native, search and contextual traffic. Affiliates using the platform see 30% higher EPCs and let the platform handle optimization, cap management and offer testing for them, allowing them to aggressively scale their businesses.

Founded in 2002, Clickbooth’s mission is to empower small businesses, entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies alike, allowing all to compete on a level playing field for media – based on performance. In 2015, Clickbooth pioneered the world’s first marketplace to automate performance advertising and support innovation leading to superior results for advertisers, affiliates and consumers. Ready to Think Bigger and gain access to the #1 Performance Exchange in the world? Visit us at www.clickbooth.com.