Zumbox, Inc., operator of a paperless postal system that connects large transactional, financial and government mailers via the internet to consumers for the delivery of digital postal mail, announced today that the United States District Court for the Central District of California has granted its Motion to Stay a patent infringement litigation brought by Pitney Bowes, Inc. The Stay was issued after the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) commenced a reexamination of the Pitney Bowes patents.

On October 13, 2009, Pitney Bowes initiated the lawsuit against Zumbox alleging that Zumbox's paperless postal system infringes three of Pitney Bowes’s patents. Shortly thereafter, Zumbox filed requests for reexamination of each of the three patents-in-suit with the USPTO based on substantial new questions of patentability related to the claims of the patents-in-suit. The USPTO granted reexamination of all three patents-in-suit.

Zumbox also filed a motion to stay the litigation with the United States District Court pending the outcome of the reexaminations. On May 20, 2010, the Court issued an order granting Zumbox’s motion to stay the litigation. The Court held:

All three factors weigh in favor of granting Zumbox’s motion for a stay. The case is in its nascent stages; it is highly likely that the patent reexamination will dispose of some or all of Pitney’s infringement claims or at a minimum, narrow and clarify the issues to be litigated; and Pitney has not demonstrated that it will suffer undue prejudice as a result of the stay. The court, therefore, grants Zumbox’s motion for a stay.

Zumbox is represented by McDermott Will & Emery LLP. Zumbox's lead attorney, Yar Chaikovsky, who is a partner at McDermott, stated, “As a result of this order, the patent litigation will not proceed while the reexaminations are moving forward. Zumbox is very pleased with this result.”

Zumbox is the operator of a postal web service that connects large mailers to consumers for the delivery of digital postal mail in the United States. The company also offers its Zumbox Digital Postal Mail Platform for license to postal authorities and commercial providers outside the U.S.

Digital postal mail provides many benefits for large transactional mailers, particularly when compared to traditional paper mail. Benefits range from dramatic cost savings – as much as $.60 to $1.70 per customer per month – to faster collections, dramatic increases in paper suppression rates, better customer service and the availability of a unique new low cost rich media channel for communicating safely and securely with customers.

For consumers, the Zumbox digital postal mail service provides secure digital postal delivery, searchable recordkeeping for life, reminders and notifications, bank-level security, elimination of paper based files, on-demand printed copies and instant mobile access via the iPhone™ and other smartphones.

And everyone benefits from the environmental advantages of digital delivery versus the huge environmental cost of trees cut down for paper, postal trucks on the road and trash thrown in landfills.

About Zumbox

Zumbox is the world’s first paperless postal system. The company has created a web-based platform for the digital delivery of postal mail. For every U.S. street address, there is a corresponding Zumbox – a digital mailbox – enabling mail and other content to be sent as digital files and received online. Zumbox represents a more cost-effective, convenient and environmentally responsible way to deliver postal mail. As a closed system, Zumbox provides bank-level security and complies with PCI, HIPAA and BITS security standards. The company has operated its postal web service for digital postal mail in the United States since February of 2009. Zumbox is privately held and based in Westlake Village, CA. Zumbox Software, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Zumbox, Inc. charged with licensing the company’s digital postal mail platform to postal authorities and commercial entities around the world. For more information, visit http://www.zumbox.com.