Debt Resolve and Apollo Settle Patent Infringement Lawsuit

Competing online debt resolution and collection providers Apollo Enterprise Solutions and Debt Resolve (AMEX: DRV) late Monday jointly announced the settlement of a patent infringement lawsuit that Debt Resolve had filed against Apollo.

In a press release issued by both companies, the settlement stated that Irvine, Calif.-based Apollo’s Intelligent Debt Solutions system did not infringe on two separate patents owned by Debt Resolve, with both parties acknowledging that fact.

Under the terms of the settlement, the case was dismissed “with prejudice,” meaning Debt Resolve may not file another lawsuit on the same grounds.

White Plains, N.Y.-based Debt Resolve filed the patent infringement lawsuit against Apollo in the U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey (“Debt Resolve Files Patent Infringement Lawsuit,” 1/11) in January. The suit alleged that Apollo’s online system for the collection of consumer debt infringed on two Debt Resolve patents: U.S. patents Nos. 6,330,551, and 6,954,741. At issue was the mechanism that creditors could use to offer debt settlements to consumers in arrears.

Apollo has claimed since the lawsuit was filed that it did not infringe on any Debt Resolve patents. “We don’t use an auction model like they do,” said Jeff Dickey, Apollo's executive vice president of sales and marketing for Apollo. "We’ve always maintained that the technologies and processes were different.” 

Debt Resolve CEO Jim Burchetta told insideARM.com today that the settlement will ultimately protect his company’s intellectual property. “This settlement accomplishes what we wanted to do [in filing the lawsuit],” he said. Burchetta said that Debt Resolve's auction-based collection model was protected in the settlement.

Dickey agreed, saying that Apollo will continue doing business as it has. “We are not encumbered in any way by this settlement,” he said.