UnitedCorp Issues Cease and Desist Notifications to Corporations Using SnapChat Geofilters for Promotional Campaigns
MIAMI, Oct. 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - Miami-based United American Corp (UnitedCorp), (OTC: UAMA) announced today that it will take further enforcement steps related to its patent infringement action against Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP) regarding Snap's use of geo-location based filters which it markets as "Geofilters".
On October 3, 2017 the iFramed technology for which UnitedCorp holds the technology rights to, received a Notice of Allowance from the US Patent Office under US patent application No. 15/240,515. UnitedCorp contends that the Geofilters used by SnapChat for photos and videos are based on iFramed technology and therefore are a direct infringement of the rights created by the Notice of Allowance). In June 2016 iFramed also received a patent in Canada the technology is patent pending in numerous international jurisdictions.
Beginning today UnitedCorp began issuing cease and desist notices to Snap corporate clients which use SnapChat Geofilters. Many major corporations such as The Walt Disney Company, Taco Bell and Starbucks use the Geofilters as a part of their promotional campaigns. While these companies may until now have been unaware of the situation, under US Law, (35 U.S.C. Section 271 (a) (b) and (c)) any entity which makes use of a patented invention even by a 3(rd) party , without authority can be held liable as "induced infringer" since they ultimately contribute directly to the infringement.
"We believe to date Snap's clients have been using SnapChat Geofilters in good faith," stated Benoit Laliberte, UnitedCorp's President, "However they now need to know that by doing this they are potentially in violation of US patent law. All these companies have their own portfolios of intellectual property and I am sure they take their rights quite seriously. We hope that they will respect our rights as well. Nevertheless UnitedCorp will pursue all legal remedies available in order to protect its IP if needed."
iFramed's U.S. Patent Application Publication no. US 2016/0359987, which was derived from International Application Publication No. WO2015/100496 filed December 30, 2014 and claiming a first priority date of January 3, 2014, was allowed by the USPTO and is scheduled to Issue within the following weeks. Corresponding Canadian Patent No. 2,887,596 issued June 14, 2016, and is the subject of an ongoing infringement dispute against Snap Inc. in the Federal Court of Canada.
UnitedCorp will provide the companies it notifies, the opportunity to discuss various iFramed licensing options that would improve significantly their commercial exposure by permitting the use of overlays to all major social media sites simultaneously. UnitedCorp provides an array of licensing packages for sponsored geolocation-based image overlay picture and video filters through the iFramed app and which can be offered to sponsors on a pay per post or per user basis. The iFramed app provides a simple smartphone App to post users pictures and videos with a geolocation based sponsored overlay to Facebook(TM), Instagram(TM), Twitter(TM), Youtube(TM) and soon to Instagram Stories(TM) .
About iFramed
iFramed is a dedicated mobile content sharing application and platform which allows its users'-originated content to be posted in real time on their social media accounts with a digital integration of external content selectable by its users based on their geo-location. iFramed, the world's first and only social media posting gateway technology and next generation social network content sharing platform.
About UnitedCorp
UnitedCorp is a Florida-based holding and management company focusing on telecommunications and information technologies. For more information, visit: www.unitedcorp.com
This news release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to various risks and uncertainties. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of numerous factors that may be beyond the Company's control. Forward-looking statements are based on the expectations and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made, and the Company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements should circumstances in management's expectations or opinions change.
SOURCE United American
