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| >> Affinity Press Release |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AFFINITY TECHNOLOGY GROUP PROVIDES UPDATE ON PATENTS Patent Covering Automated Establishment of Credit and Other Financial Accounts Will Be Issued August 15 Company Continues
to Vigorously Defend Claims Relating to Its Original Patent Covering
Automated Loan Processing Columbia, SC, August 14, 2000 – Affinity Technology Group, Inc. [NASDAQ: AFFI] today announced that it had been notified by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) that the Company will be issued a patent on August 15 covering the automated processing of financial accounts, including credit accounts. The patent gives Affinity proprietary rights concerning the establishment of financial accounts in a fully automated manner – in which an application is received from a remote computer interface, the identity of the applicant is verified and the account is processed and established in real time, all without human intervention. Joe Boyle, Affinity’s President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "We are delighted to add this patent to our intellectual property portfolio. Not only does this patent significantly enhance the scope of our intellectual property rights, but we believe that it will provide additional licensing opportunities in areas outside of loan processing." Affinity also announced that the PTO has issued a second preliminary rejection of the Company’s previously issued claims concerning Affinity’s first patent covering automated loan processing. "This action does not constitute a final decision by the PTO and was issued to disclose a new ‘prior art’ reference," Mr. Boyle said. Affinity intends to vigorously defend its claims and will respond to the PTO’s action promptly. Affinity also announced that the PTO has granted a request to reexamine its second loan processing patent, which is very similar to its first patent. Mr. Boyle stated, "We will take all steps necessary to defend our claims with the PTO and, in so doing, further strengthen the licensing potential for our technology. We are evaluating the prior art cited by the PTO’s examiner and do not believe it should materially impair our patent claims. We hope to resolve the outstanding issues with the PTO quickly, but are committed to appealing any decision by the examiner that substantially limits the rights and claims previously granted by the PTO." Affinity’s technology enables financial institutions to link their branches, call centers, Internet customers, and indirect agents electronically to their credit departments, providing fully automated lending - and, if necessary, connectivity to a loan officer - through every channel. For financial institutions, Affinity’s solutions expedite loan decisioning and processing and increase productivity and capacity of branch personnel, call center agents, loan officers, and indirect agents, while improving the overall customer experience. Affinity is located on the World Wide Web at www.affi.net. # # # Forward-looking statements in this news release, including statements regarding the Company’s patents, both those granted and pending, and the coverage of any patents that have been or may be issued to the Company, are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including those related to the proprietary and other rights of third parties who may challenge the Company’s patents, general economic conditions, delays and risks associated with the development of new technologies, consumer and industry acceptance of automated delivery channels, and regulatory risks, that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Further, although the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued patents for certain claims covered by the Company’s patent applications, such actions have been and are subject to further challenge by third parties, and no assurance can be given that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will not take action to reject any or all previously issued or pending patent claims by the Company, or that any patents that have been or may be issued to the Company will have any commercial value. NOTE TO INVESTORS AND EDITORS: Affinity’s press releases are available on the Internet through Business Wire’s web site at http://www.businesswire.com. The releases are also available at no extra charge through Business Wire’s Company News-On-Demand fax service at 1-800-340-7544. |
2001 Affinity Technology Group
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