Federal Court of Canada Rules in Favor of Investel Capital Corp, Teliphone Navigata-Westel's Parent Company on Motions Filed by Snap Inc. related to Investel's Patent Infringement Suit against Snap
Court rules on sufficiency of claim and Snap ordered to file defence by November 30, 2016
VANCOUVER, Nov. 30, 2016 /CNW/ - Vancouver-based Investel Capital Corporation (''Investel''), and its wholly-owned subsidiary Teliphone Navigata-Westel, the developer of iFramed(TM), an Internet social media user/advertiser relationship-based global marketing system and social network gateway, reported that the Federal Court of Canada ruled against a motion filed by Snap Inc. for Investel to provide additional information in its patent infringement lawsuit against Snap Inc. ("Snap" - formerly known as SnapChat Inc.) and a request to delay Snap's filing of a defence.
In its motion, Snap asked the court to compel Investel to submit an Amended Statement of Claim to include additional information which would allow Snap to prepare its defence, although Snap did not specify exactly what information it was looking for. Snap had further sought permission of the Court to delay the filing of its defence.
In the ruling, the court disagreed with Snap's assertion that the claim against it by Investel "contained bald allegations of patent infringement" and that it contained "no material facts detailing Snapchat's alleged infringement of Investel's patent" and further stating that was in fact not the case. In reading the entire claim, the Court cited specific examples where material facts were provided and that the claim included "specific examples of a product utilizing the claimed technology and sets out readily recognizable features of Snapchat's social media application which Investel alleges infringes the patent". As such the motion was substantially denied and Snap was ordered to file its defence by November 30th 2016.
Investel Capital Corp vs. Snap, Inc – Federal Court ORDER November 2016 is available for download at: www.investel.com/legal/federalcourtordernovember2016.pdf
Investel is seeking the relief set forth in its Statement of Claim filed August 24, 2016 which includes an injunction and monetary damages for all infringing uses of Snap's Geofilter application in Canada. Investel currently holds Canadian Patent No. 2,887,596, entitled "USER CONTENT SHARING SYSTEM AND METHOD WITH AUTOMATED EXTERNAL CONTENT INTEGRATION" which Investel believes is the underlying technology behind Snap Inc.'s "geofilters" which use the geolocation of social media users in order to provide on demand insertion of external content in the form of a frame or overlay on pictures or videos. It also has patents pending in several jurisdictions including the United States all with a priority date of January 3, 2014.
"We are very pleased that the Federal Court of Canada has recognized that there is a triable issue here reflected in our Statement of Claim and we are ready to move forward," said Lawry Trevor-Deutsch, Investel Managing Partner. "We are very confident in our position that Snap has in the past and continues to infringe on our patent and we will continue to enforce our rights in Canada, the US and other jurisdictions."
About Investel Capital Corporation
Investel Capital Corporation is an investment fund specializing in the acquisition of telecommunications companies and development of new technologies. With offices in Toronto and Vancouver, Canada, it focuses on investing in the development of new technologies with their own R&D resource group and currently has a portfolio of patents filed worldwide.
About iFramed
iFramed is an Internet social media user/advertiser relationship based global marketing system with a user app that works with most popular social media sites. With the iFramed social media gateway, users are able to post photo or video content to their favorite social media which contains the branding options offered to them based on their demographic profile including geo-positioning. They are then paid for posting this branded content by the advertiser or sponsor through iFramed. iFramed believes this "paid to post" approach is much more effective than any current system including banner ads or where advertisers are charged on a "per click" basis as users are rewarded for their content and develop a respectful relationship with advertisers. Sponsored content is posted in real time and without annoying pop ups or ads that need to be viewed or closed. The amount a user is paid for posting is based on their specific demographic, their popularity with other users and how advertisers have set up their iFramed campaign. This can range from a few cents to over one hundred dollars per post.
iFramed provides advertisers with an efficient and effective tool to promote their brand, product and message. It also provides its users with a personal digital copyright watermark on all pictures and videos in a form of a frame/filter style with the sponsor logos and/or messages.
About Teliphone Navigata-Westel
From its origin in 1957 as BC Rail Telecom, to its recent evolution as Teliphone Navigata-Westel, the company is now one of the largest independent facilities-based Competitive Local Exchange Carriers in Canada.
SOURCE Investel Capital Corporation
INVESTEL CAPITAL CORPORATION: Lawry Trevor-Deutsch, Managing Partner ([email protected]); Contact: Jenna Trevor-Deutsch, Director Public Relations, Email: [email protected], Tel: 604-398-5000 ext: 109
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