Community Bank Funding Company

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Joëlle Rockwood
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Florida Federal Court Confirms Dismissal of CMCD

Patent Challenge by Indeco

 Miami, FL – July 29, 2008 – Yesterday, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida confirmed its earlier June 26, 2008 dismissal of the declaratory judgment complaint filed by Insured Deposit Conduit, LLC (Indeco) against Community Bank Funding Company and Robert Colvin for lack of jurisdiction, by denying Indeco’s motion for reconsideration of the earlier dismissal order. 

Indeco’s lawsuit involved the Capital Market CD (CMCD), a patented product created by Community Bank Funding Company (previously IPFS) to assist community banks in raising deposits. 

By way of background, beginning in 2003, Robert Colvin, the founder of Community Bank Funding Company (CBFC previously IPFS) applied for a patent from the US Patent Office for a system that facilitates the securitization of Certificates of Deposits. In 2005-2006, while the patent application was pending, Indeco tried to duplicate the process. CBFC, protecting its rights, sent letters to Indeco and its business partners advising them of the potential infringement. On April 17^th, 2007 the patent, entitled Methods and Systems for Securitization of Certificates of Deposit (Patent # 7,206,761), was issued.

On October 16, 2007, Indeco filed its complaint with the Florida District Court.  The complaint asked the Court to declare CBFC’s patent invalid and unenforceable.  Indeco’s complaint also asked the Court to declare that a hypothetical Indeco CD program, materially different from the 2005-2006 program, and which Indeco had neither commercialized nor took concrete steps to commercialize, did not infringe the patent.  Because Federal District Courts can only hear actual “cases and controversies” between parties, and do not render advisory opinions based on hypothetical claims, the Florida Court granted CBFC’s motion to dismiss Indeco’s complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.  Since Indeco’s CD program was hypothetical in nature, the Florida Court also did not have jurisdiction over CBFC’s counterclaim for patent infringement.  As a result, the Court also dismissed CBFC’s counterclaim, without prejudice.

Designed by CBFC, the CMCD program is the only securitized CD program available anywhere in the world today. In short, the CMCD program provides a mechanism where-by institutional investors can purchase large blocks of AAA rated notes, where the collateral for the notes are fully insured by the FDIC. The recipients’ of the funds from the program are FDIC insured community banks that issue CDs into the program. Through the patented process, community banks can consistently raise competitively priced funds from large institutional investors that they would otherwise never be able to do business with. As a result of the program, community banks benefit by securing a new source of deposits, while large institutional buyers benefit through the addition of a new AAA rated security backed 100% by FDIC insured CDs. 

“We are very pleased by the decision the court made today,” said Robert Colvin, Founder of CBFC. “We have worked long and hard to create this unique solution for community banks and to think someone could simply step in and claim it for their own was intolerable,” Mr. Colvin remarked. “As the need for deposits continues to grow in the community bank industry, the CMCD provides a solution which allows institutions to cost-effectively reach a broad audience of institutional investors that would otherwise be unreachable. Through the patented methodology created by CBFC, community banks now have available a source of funds from a completely new investor base to complement deposits raised in their local markets,” said Robert Colvin.
 
About Community Bank Funding Company (CBFC)

Community Bank Funding Company, headquartered in Aurora, Colorado and backed by Denver-based Republic Financial Corporation, provides innovative funding solutions for the countries 8,500 community banks with assets less than $10 billion. The company helps banks fill an increasing funding void caused by the continuing erosion of local retail deposits. In 1992, 82% of a bank’s funding came from their local retail deposits - today only 68% of their funding comes from this same source. This funding problem is expected to grow in the coming years as deposits from the post-World War II generation passes to the next generation. CBFC recognizes this problem and has developed solutions like the CMCD to assist community banks in funding needs to allow them to compete effectively in the financial services markets. Visit CBFC at www.cbankfunding.com.
          

Denver Business Journal
8-11-08