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| The Xcellink local link technology is described in Xcellink's International Patent Number WO 98/09260. The patent application was filed as a pre-emptive measure, to ensure competitors cannot lodge their own patent and as an offensive measure to protect the business process. The development of the intellectual property protection for the Xcellink local link has been exceptionally thorough and covers all automatic data exchange between traders and customers. It follows that the Xcellink patents would cover any new local link technology from another developer. The Xcellink business process patent is described within the Abstract Section of the filing as an "Automated Electronic Funds Transfer System and Method" that is: "A method and system for automatically conducting a financial transaction between a user and a trader. A trader terminal includes billing information representative of the trader and a user terminal or user card is used to receive and process the billing information over a local communications link. The user terminal or user card includes user information representative of the user. The user information and billing information is transmitted by the user terminal to a service provider who automatically transfers funds of the user, which may be reserved funds, to the trader upon entry of a PIN by the user on the user terminal. Delivery destination information and information identifying the goods and/or services purchased by the user may be transmitted to the service provider and to an electronic warehouse." Patents have been sought and awarded under the title "Automated Electronic Fund Transfer System and Method". These generally relate to a novel architecture and a specific detail of an automated data link between merchants and customers who have an enhanced mobile phone or similar unit with network access -- all aimed at giving the customer control of the transaction, and not passing private information to the merchant.
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