NeoMedia’s patents upholded and now greater scanner distribution at concerts and events

Rating: silent but necessary?

A few weeks ago the US patent office up-held NeoMedia’s patent applications despite an application to invalidate its patents.

From the press release: “NeoMedia is once again very pleased with the decision of the U.S. Patent Office, and will continue to drive for use of mobile code technology that achieves mass global adoption of optically initiated wireless transactions on wireless networks,” said William J. Hoffman Jr., the company’s CEO.

“NeoMedia,” he said, “is continuing to work with any and all participants in the wireless ecosystem in an effort to create a global infrastructure that enables the broadest possible acceptance of mobile codes in all forms of commerce. By focusing on infrastructure that processes the transactions that drive this form of m-commerce,” Mr. Hoffman said, “NeoMedia believes it can best monetize and propagate the technology embodied in our IP to the benefit of the entire global wireless value chain.”

Then on Friday – NeoMedia announced that it was pushing ahead with the deployment of mobile phone scanners at concert venues around Europe. NeoMedia’s technology qode uses Data Matrix or 2D on the phone. This particular push comes from the German subsidiary of NeoMedia called Gravitec AG – one of the only companies to be kept under the NeoMedia banner after a huge spending spree a few years ago. This year, NeoMedia became a much lighter company with the sole focus on qode.

From the press release:
“The future belongs to mobile ticketing and other financial transactions using NeoMedia’s technology”, stated the CEO of Gavitec AG — mobile digit and subsidiary of NeoMedia Technologies, Dr. Christian Steinborn. “The application of NeoMedia’s technology at concerts in Germany, Austria and in the Netherlands was a great success. For us, our clients, and concertgoers; mobile ticketing means eliminating printed admission tickets (which can be lost) and no queues in front of the cash desk. Instead, mobile ticketing allows for easy, quick, and smooth handling.”

Dr. Steinborn continued, “Through the network operators, event managers and ticket shops can benefit from mobile ticketing to generate higher sales through data transmission of mobile tickets, winning additional clients by introducing innovative ways of distribution, and creating a personalized database with client information and reliable access control.”

What we think?
To be honest, I am going hot, cold to warm on NeoMedia. I only started following the company earlier this year in January when I moderated some panels at the Mobile Advertising conference in Paris. A competitor or NeoMedia Abaxia made some bold statements and the topic of standardization came up – which is one of the first times I heard of qode. Since then I have spoken to NeoMedia on several occasions but since the previous CEO Chas Fritz “left” I haven’t made contact again. But over the past two weeks interest in the company is again on the up – fueled by more press releases, results and patents.

So what are my concerns?
1. Standardisation sounds great. Qode sounds great.
2. But there are thousands of companies offering their own solutions and mobile operators are signing up for these services.
3. This means that there are a lot of barcode scanners already and often they are not compatible.
This is an interesting market to watch and you can read Abaxia vs qode in Mobile Ads and 2.0.

Related News:

1. NeoMedia’s Chas Fritz
2. NeoMedia’s Gavitec offers mobile ticketing to Spainair
3. NeoMedia enables 85 more models to work with qode
4. Neo Media qodes BREW
5. Qode looks for text book business model