USAA Lauded for Patent Innovations

For the fifth year in a row the Intellectual Property Owners Association’s Patent 300® has recognized USAA as one of the top innovators in the patent field. This year, USAA jumps to the 125th spot among the top 300 companies, organizations and universities for the most patents issued during 2022, continuing USAA’s steady climb in the rankings and marking a notable 164 percent increase in patents issued to USAA since 2018.

This innovative spirit is embodied in USAA’s more than 3,000 pending and issued patents and is inspired by USAA’s commitment to serving its members for over 100 years. USAA’s innovations in serving members stretches back to early use of 1-800 numbers for customers and now includes modern, patented achievements like pioneering the use of remote deposit capture to ease members’ check deposits.

As part of its mission to serve members, USAA recognized that many of its military members and their families experienced difficultly accessing banking facilities for check deposit, for example when they’re deployed at sea or outside the country. Other members are wounded warriors who cannot easily get to a bank or an ATM. USAA went about solving that problem, through great financial investment, by creating its patented mobile remote deposit capture (MRDC) technology.

Unfortunately, many banks in the financial services industry have copied USAA’s technology without taking a license, requiring litigation to protect USAA’s intellectual property. Companies who have copied USAA’s technology have also repeatedly attempted to challenge USAA’s patents before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). But overall, USAA has been successful in protecting its technology and prevailed in most of these challenges, further confirming the strength and breadth of its extensive MRDC patent portfolio.

“USAA is proud of our innovations over the last 100-plus years, including remote deposit capture technology that has made banking easier for our members,” said Nathan McKinley, USAA vice president and head of Corporate Development. “We are committed to protecting our technology on behalf of our members. USAA’s position that we pioneered MRDC has been validated by several recent jury verdicts against competitors and by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.”

The USPTO has issued more than 130 patents for MRDC inventions and continues to validate USAA’s program, issuing three new MRDC patents in the last 30 days; the most recent MRDC patent being issued Jan. 23, 2023.

McKinley said that while the banking industry has unfairly benefited from USAA’s investment in mobile banking innovation designed for members and the military community, he sees a positive change developing in the industry.

“Banks have begun to acknowledge our patent rights, as demonstrated by the signing of several license agreements and ongoing negotiations with future licensees,” he said. “We look forward to working with more banks to create reasonable and mutually beneficial license agreements.”