Paid Inc. announced it received an Issuance Notification from the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) on Monday for Patent #7324968. The patent will be effective on January 29, 2008, for a "Method and System for Improved Online Auction" for real-time calculation of shipping costs for items purchased online using a zip code as a destination location indicator.

Paid said it would not be limited to licensing its software solely to online auction companies and expects to pursue licensing with a broad range of ecommerce companies. The company uses Hunton & Williams, LLP, the same patent law firm that fought MercExchange's patent battle with eBay (http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y06/m05/i19/s02) .

Paid filed the patent application in May 2000. The patent covers shipping charge calculation methods across multiple carriers, and accounts for additional characteristics of the item being shipped, such as weight, special packaging, handling, and insurance costs.

The company said it would provide further details after the patent's effective date.

http://www.paid.com/index.cfm/pk/view/cd/NAA/cdid/400818/pid/400359