Chicago-based Groupon Inc., which offers daily group purchasing deals in more than 300 U.S. and international cities, filed a suit against Los Angeles-based MobGob LLC on Thursday in U.S. District Court in Chicago. The suit claims that MobGob violates a patent issued to Groupon in 2001 for an online marketing system and method.
Groupon employs a system that offers its members one discount a day, and is triggered only if a pre-determined number of members accept the deal. MobGob allows a business to offer an item for a set price and determine how many people have to accept that offer within a particular period of time before the deal is executed for everyone.
Groupon's complaint asks for compensatory damages equivalent to a "reasonable royalty."
