$2.6 Million Dollar Settlement Paid by the Princeton Review

PORTLAND, OR - CollegeNET and The Princeton Review have entered into an agreement settling all claims related to The Princeton Review's alleged infringement of two CollegeNET patents, U.S. patent number 6,460,042 (the '042) and U.S. patent number 6,910,045 (the '045). These CollegeNET patents cover key innovations in the way web-based admissions applications are serviced on behalf of colleges and universities.

CollegeNET's infringement claims arose from TPR's operation of its Embark admissions servicing unit, a unit which TPR sold in early 2007 to MRU Holdings (My Rich Uncle). Princeton Review publicly acknowledged settling the litigation and making the one-time $2.6 Million payment to CollegeNET in its 2007 Annual Report. While most terms of the settlement agreement are confidential, a key provision that isn't calls for payment by TPR of a royalty to CollegeNET should TPR choose to re-enter the web admissions application processing business. The agreed upon royalty rate conforms to the per application compensation rate set by a jury in 2003 in the CollegeNET vs. ApplyYourself patent infringement litigation -- litigation which has not yet closed.

The settlement agreement follows rejection by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) of The Princeton Review's request for a second re-examination of CollegeNET's '042 patent. The USPTO issued a notice in July, 2007 upholding all claims of CollegeNET's US patent no. 6,460,042 (the '042 patent); affirmed new, additional claims; and closed its reexamination of that patent. Following this notice, The Princeton Review filed a second request for re-examination to the PTO citing additional, putatively invalidating prior art. The USPTO indicated in its rejection of this second request that the cited materials and arguments failed to raise a substantial new question of patentability. The patent office issued the re-examination certificate for the '042 patent on April 8, 2008 closing the proceedings.

Paul Casey, CollegeNET associate vice president, stated, "The settlement agreement with Princeton Review ends their participation in a protracted and coordinated attempt by various infringers to overturn CollegeNET's patents. The settlement agreement and the latest USPTO action are important additional steps towards affirming our valid intellectual property rights and clearing the haze of denial that has lingered over the marketplace."