Protus IP Solutions Inc. provided software-as-a-service communication tools designed for small to medium businesses. Founded in 1997, Protus was a privately held company based in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, Canada which had approximately 200 employees and over 500,000 subscribers worldwide, offering its services in sixteen countries.

Litigation

Protus was one of multiple targets of

j2 Global J2 Global, Inc. was an American technology holding company based in Los Angeles, California. The company provided Internet services through two divisions: Business Cloud Services and Digital Media. History J2 Global was founded in December 1995 ...

litigation, in which that company accused a long list of rival vendors of patent infringement. J2 Global's allegations of patent infringement date to 2008. An attempt by j2 Global to acquire Protus-confidential business information through

letters rogatory {{Short description, Formal request by a court to a foreign court for judicial assistance Letters rogatory or letters of request are a formal request from a court to a foreign court for some type of judicial assistance. The most common remedies soug ...

was rejected by an Ontario court in 2009 with full costs awarded to Protus. In December 2010, j2 Global changed its tactics, eliminating Protus as a competitor by buying the company outright for $213 million in cash. Protus was also the target of a 2010 lawsuit in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

in which AGV Sports Group alleged violation of the federal

Telephone Consumer Protection Act The Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA) was passed by the United States Congress in 1991 and signed into law by President George H. W. Bush as Public Law 102-243. It amended the Communications Act of 1934. The TCPA is codified as ...

and the Maryland Telephone Consumer Protection Act through the transmission of hundreds of unsolicited facsimile advertisements promoting travel packages, health care discounts, toner, office equipment, life insurance, mortgages and other products and services. The

Junk Fax Prevention Act of 2005 Junk may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Junk'' (film), a 2000 Japanese horror film * ''J-U-N-K'', a 1920 American film * ''Junk'' (novel), by Melvin Burgess, 1996 * ''Junk'', a novel by Christopher Largen Music Groups * Junk (band), a Br ...

and

CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 The Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography And Marketing (CAN-SPAM) Act of 2003 is a law passed in 2003 establishing the United States' first national standards for the sending of commercial e-mail. The law requires the Federal Trad ...

had amended the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act to close a loophole formerly exploited to send unsolicited

junk fax Junk faxes are a form of telemarketing where unsolicited advertisements are sent via fax transmission. Junk faxes are the faxed equivalent of spam or junk mail. Proponents of this advertising medium often use the terms ''broadcast fax'' or ''fax a ...

es to US recipients from outside the country.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Protus Official Website
''PC World'', Tynan, Dan
Why More Businesses Are Turning to Email Marketing
''Small Business Newz'', Chris Crum Companies based in Ottawa Software companies of Canada