Tiny Tumbleweed Takes On Internet Giants In Intellectual Property Dispute

by Glen Shapiro, LawAndTax-News.com, New York

18 February 2003

Opinion is divided as to the likely outcome of a David and Goliath battle between relatively unknown software company Tumbleweed Communications Corp., and internet giants such as PayPal, eBay, and Yahoo over a potentially large patent claim.

According to reports in the US media, Tumbleweed claims that it invented the technology behind the personalized links sent by PayPal which allow customers to securely access information regarding their online transactions. The smaller company sued PayPal in May 2002, and following eBay's $1.5 billion takeover of the online payment service provider, added it to the list of defendants.

The Associated Press reported that Tumbleweed's suit against Ebay and PayPal, and a parallel action against Yahoo seeks unspecified damages and a court order to stop further use of the personalized links without royalty payments.

Although taking on three such behemoths is undoubtedly a large financial risk for the Redwood City-based company, if its actions are successful, the resulting payoffs could help it turn the corner after several years of losses.

Both eBay and Yahoo have dismissed Tumbleweed's claims as 'meritless'. However, speaking to the AP, Tumbleweed CEO, Jeff Smith revealed that he is confident of a ruling in his company's favor.

'They seem to think of us as some kind of dot-com that is going to go out of business within the next two years. But we have a high degree of confidence that we are going to be around to win this case,' he told the news service.

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