IBM’s lawsuit, filed in U.S. court in Delaware in 2016, accused Groupon of infringing on its patents for various technologies, including a single sign-on function, that date back to online-access service Prodigy and the earliest days of the internet.
IBM told Groupon in 2011 that it was infringing on its patents. Groupon fought the case in court and lost in late July when a jury sided with IBM, ordering Groupon to pay $83 million in damages. The settlement also included a long-term patent cross-license agreement between the companies.
IBM, which has one of the largest patent portfolios in the world, also sued e-commerce companies Priceline, Kayak and OpenTable. According to its general manager of intellectual property, the deal demonstrates the value of the intellectual property since the company derives from its annual investment of more than $5 billion in research and development.
IBM was seeking up to $167 million in damages, saying it developed widely licensed technology crucial to the development of the internet. There’s also this twist: IBM will consider making available certain Groupon products and exclusives to employees as part of its corporate benefits offer.