Poynt, aあlocation-based mobile search engine from Multiplied Media, today announced it has been granted a patent, first filed in 2000, for delivering offers and coupons to a mobile user based on GPS location and information from the user&'s profile, according to a company announcement.
Available on the iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry, Poynt lets users search for services and products, and it provides results based on their location at the time of the search. The patent will help to protect this feature and create a barrier of entry for competitors.
The company launched its Offer Engine for local businesses recently at VentureBeat&'s DEMO Fall 2010 event. The advertising tool makes it easy for local businesses to sign-up and push promotions to potential customers nearby.
The new patent may be a major win for Poynt, especially with competition heating up around location-based services and offering promotions. Major competitors like Foursqaure, Location Labs and Placecast could be affected if Poynt decides to use the patent aggressively. I&'ve reached out to each of the company&'s contacts to get their perspective on how this may affect their futures and will update this post when I hear back.
MultipliedあMedia is a publicly traded Canadian company founded in 2002. The Poynt mobile application has been around since 2008 and downloaded over 4.8 million times, according to the company.
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Companies: Multiplied Media, Poynt
Companies: Multiplied Media, Poynt
Cody Barbierri is a social and digital media consultant. He works for Piehead and blogs about social media at Social Tab. (None of his posts are about clients or their competitors.) Reach him at Cody@venturebeat.com. You can also follow Cody on Twitter.
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