Jumptap yesterday announced it was awarded its fourth patent in eight months, and while the language describing the patent is a bit of a puzzle, you can rest assured it relates to mobile search and advertising.
In fact, for reasons related to how patents are described and interpreted, Jumptap representatives declined to describe the patent in detail outside the script found here. But a named inventor of the patent, Jorey Ramer, who is also founder and vice president of corporate development at Jumptap, says its significance relates to the entire future of advertising.
He ticks off figures on the size of the global advertising industry and the increasing share that is going digital. In three years, if more users are on mobile devices than on PCs, the advertisers won't have a choice but to go mobile. (Gartner Research predicts that mobile Web access will surpass traditional PC access by 2013.)
Ramer also says that what's important in ad inventions is to deliver better performance – better click-through or other engagement rates, better brand recall and more. If you can deliver better performance, that's what advertisers are after. And presumably, that's what Jumptap's latest patent speaks to.
Executives at Jumptap, which now remains one of the few pure-play independent mobile advertising firms, say they're not just prettying up the company for sale amid the latest round of consolidation. "What we're focused on is building the business," Ramer says. "We don't believe any company can be successful in sustaining a business without a strong patent portfolio," which is just as important as building revenues, reach and other metrics used to evaluate a company.
Ramer interprets the moves by Google and Apple to acquire AdMob and Quattro Wireless, respectively, as validation of the sector as a whole. But the industry has to be careful about actions that can lead to greater fragmentation because that's a turn-off to advertisers that don't have time to figure and configure for myriad platforms. Being independent, Jumtap works across platforms and makes it easier for advertisers to participate, he says.
Jumptap has been issued three other patents since June 2009. The company currently has more than 70 published patent applications and anticipates receiving more patents over the coming quarters. Jumptap works with the GTC Law Group, Webb Law Firm and Strategic Patents P.C. in conjunction with its patent applications.