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PAID Inc. Receives Patent 7,930,237 for Online Shipping Calculation Method

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Boston, MA -- The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued U.S. Patent No. 7,930,237 to PAID, Inc. (OTCBB: PAYD) on April 19, 2011. U.S. Patent No. 7,930,237 is owned by PAID and covers a technique for facilitating advanced, rapid, accurate estimation of shipping costs across multiple shipping carriers (e.g., U.S. Postal Service, FedEx, UPS, DHL) and shipping options between a buyer and a seller in an online auction. The patent is valid for a minimum of 20 years from the first claimed priority date. The patent can be viewed on the USPTO website at the following location: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=7,930,237.PN.&OS=PN/7,930,237&RS=PN/7,930,237.

"This new patent complements and strengthens our first patent and we are very pleased with the claims that were granted by the USPTO," said Greg Rotman, PAID, Inc. CEO. "We now plan to fully pursue the monetization of our patent assets through licensing and/or sale of the patent assets. With the intellectual property protection afforded with the issuance of these patents, we believe these two patents are very valuable to companies directly involved in online auctions and ecommerce, as well as companies who specialize in IP licensing. We have worked, and continue to work, closely with our patent legal counsel, Thomas E. Anderson of Hunton & Williams, LLP, and the U.S. Patent Office to achieve what we believe to be excellent patent coverage on our intellectual property relating to shipping calculation technologies."

The new patent includes claims that complement U.S. Patent No. 7,324,986, which was granted to PAID in January 2008. U.S. Patent No. 7,324,986 claimed a shipping calculator "system" that uses a location identifier for the purpose of calculating real-time shipping costs across multiple carriers and various components of shipping, such as weight, packaging, insurance costs and special packaging, at any time during an online purchasing transaction. The main distinguishing feature of the new patent is that it claims a method -- rather than a system -- for calculating shipping rates. The patent covers steps to perform the calculation, not limiting it to an exact structure, and therefore significantly broadens the coverage of the patent beyond the scope of PAID's first patent.

"Method patents are typically more valuable than system patents because method patents are not necessarily limited to any particular underlying structure that may be required to perform the steps of the claimed method. Thus, the method claims in our new patent allow for changes in hardware that may not be currently contemplated and may develop as technology evolves," noted Rotman. "The beauty of this method patent is that it will have value years from now even when the systems we are currently using may become obsolete. This aspect will be very important to those who may be interested in licensing or purchasing our IP assets."

Currently, PAID's online shipping software that employs the patented methodologies and systems is in use by hundreds of companies that license PAID's AuctionInc™ software, as well as numerous ecommerce sites hosted and/or managed by PAID. The AuctionInc software suite includes the ShopCart™ shopping cart solution, ShipCalc™, a shipping application protocol interface (API) and other software products and plug-ins. PAID's AuctionInc Shipping API includes the following features and benefits that provide an unmatched advantage over competitors' systems:

Robust packaging logic
Collection of more item variables that impact shipping costs
Drop-shipping support
Accessorial fee support
Accounts for method of delivery of package to the carrier (which impacts fees by as much as 30%)
Accurate calculated shipping with same-screen comparison for multiple shipping options with the four major carriers: US Postal Service, UPS, FedEx and DHL
Domestic and International services supported
Intelligent "packaging" algorithm which handles multiple items and quantities
Item dimensions and dimensional ratings
Drop-shipping from multiple origins
"On-demand" carrier settings
Fixed shipping codes
Free shipping
Promotional shipping discounts
Accurate package insurance
AuctionInc's top-quality customer support

The demand for methods for accurately calculating shipping is expected to increase as US and global e-retail sales continue to rise. In a February 2011 report by Forrester Research, US e-retail sales were projected to grow 10% per year, increasing from $197 billion in 2011 to $279 billion by 2015. By 2015, the web is expected to account for 11% of all retail sales (15% in groceries are excluded). Goldman Sachs predicts worldwide retail web sales will reach nearly $1 trillion by 2013 as e-commerce grows at 19.4% as reported by Internet Retailer.

According to eCommerce Times, shipping costs still represent the single biggest deterrent for consumers shopping online. Accurately calculating shipping helps retailers pass the cost on to consumers and shows consumers the true cost of various shipping options.

About PAID, Inc.

PAID, Inc., publicly traded under the ticker PAYD, is a one-stop brand management and marketing resource to music, entertainment and sports personalities and organizations, and offers AuctionInc™online shipping calculation and shopping cart software employing its patented technology to streamline ecommerce. Known for quality and customer service, PAID offers turnkey online, mobile, social media and traditional marketing campaigns, as well as award-winning video & film production,VIP ticketing, web site design, merchandising, ecommerce and fan community management programs. More details are available at www.paid.com.

Safe Harbor statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

Statements in this news release looking forward in time involve risks and uncertainties, including the risks associated with the effect of changing economic conditions, trends in the markets, variations in the company's cash flow, competition, celebrity programs, business development efforts, technology availability and cost of materials and other risk factors. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are discussed in the Company's most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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