Strengthens Intellectual Property Portfolio and Addresses Online Advertising Market Expected to Reach $182 Billion by 2017
Local Corporation (NASDAQ: LOCM), a leading local advertising technology company, today announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted the company its thirteenth patent, which covers an online advertising monetization and yield optimization method and/or system.
Issued on May 13, 2014, patent number 8,725,572 is directed to a technique for locating relevant advertisements through the use of semantic keyword searches with claims directed to software, systems and methods in which semantically related keywords may be used to locate relevant fee generating advertisements that may monetize better than other available response ads.
"We are pleased to expand our robust portfolio of intellectual property with this latest ad monetization patent," said Fred Thiel, Local Corporation chairman and chief executive officer. "The online advertising industry continues to show strong growth, and we believe that our advertising technology, in combination with our growing intellectual property portfolio, will position us well to lead in this sector. We look forward to unlocking the value of our IP and leveraging this patent to further monetize and optimize traffic and advertising across our Owned and Operated properties and Network."
The company now has 13 patents issued, including four patents related to search/menus, five related to pay-per-call and one focused on local shopping, with several additional patents still pending. The company is conducting a comprehensive review of the various advertising models used across the industry today that may be utilizing this patented yield optimization technology.
The company recently announced that as part of its patent strategy, it is in the process of transferring the majority of its issued patents to a dedicated IP holding subsidiary, which provides a more flexible solution and enables the company to better leverage the value of its intellectual property.
Additionally, the trial date for the company's ongoing Fry's Electronics patent litigation has been set for July 15, 2014.
According to Borrell Associates, the U.S. online advertising market continues to grow and is expected to reach $182 billion by 2017.
www.localcorporation.com
