Sutcliffe

Read more about the article Settlement Reached in Personals Lawsuit

The details of the out-of-court settlement are confidential, but it does include the terms on which Sutcliffe Associates' SelectAlternatives program will license Tele-Publishing Inc.'s patents and other intellectual property, the two companies announced yesterday. TPI and SA are both AAN Associate Members and both will continue to provide personal advertising technology to newspapers. "The settlement provides publishers with some choices going forward," says TPI President David Dinnage. "We feel that this is a win for all parties involved."

Continue ReadingSettlement Reached in Personals Lawsuit

Tele-Publishing Inc. filed suit Sept. 22 in U.S. District Court in Arizona against Andrew B. Sutcliffe and his Tucson-based company, Sutcliffe Associates. Last year Sutcliffe, who was the founding president of TPI, launched a personals service, known as SelectAlternatives, that competes against the service of his former employer. TPI claims that Sutcliffe and five AAN papers that use SelectAlternatives infringed on four patents it owns, which Sutcliffe co-invented when he was TPI's president. The publishing companies that own the five AAN papers are named as co-defendants in the suit. Sutcliffe has issued a response saying that the suit is without merit, and he promises to mount a vigorous defense.

Continue ReadingTPI Sues Competing Personals Ad Business, Alleging Patent Infringement