DE Technologies, founded by international trade specialist Edward Pool and telecoms management consultant Douglas Mauer, spent five years fighting to have its patent approved by the US Patent and Trademark Office before it was finally granted in October 2002.
The patent summary states:
"An international transaction system for operation over the internet/intranet provides a pre-transactional calculation of all charges involved in any international transaction. Upon the option of the customer, the goods can be viewed on catalogue sheets translated to a language of the customer's choice, and the price provided in a currency selected by the customer. The customer also has the option of initiating the order with automatic credit authorisation, generation of an electronic title or commercial invoice and arrangements and payment of shipping charges and any taxes and import/export duties."
Pool has claimed in the past that his system dates back to 1992. In 2000, Pool and his lawyers argued that the patent entitled his company to collect licence fees on every trade deal across borders. At that time, his company wanted to collect a 0.3% fee on each computerised cross-border transaction.
