Arbitron has settled lawsuits against Ipsos in the United States and the United Kingdom, and separately against International Demographics, otherwise known as The Media Audit.
Both agreements concern patent infringement lawsuits that Arbitron filed in 2006 in federal court.
Arbitron maintained that the “Smart Cell Phone” developed by Ipsos, previously marketed by The Media Audit in the United States, violated three of its Portable People Meter patents.
This past October, Arbitron and The Media Audit settled the case. Arbitron said The Media Audit acknowledged that the three Arbitron U.S. patents were valid and enforceable, and the company agreed that, until the Arbitron U.S. patents expired, The Media Audit would not make, use, sell, offer for sale, test, demonstrate or distribute the Ipsos “Smart Cell Phone.”
Now, Arbitron and Ipsos have settled as well. Arbitron effectively dismissed its legal challenge once Ipsos agreed to suspend efforts to commercialize, test or market a portable electronics measurement system in the U.S. until at least Jan. 13, 2012.
