Ronald A. Katz (March 10, 1936 – March 28, 2025) was an American inventor and president of Ronald A. Katz Technology Licensing LP. His inventions were primarily in the field of automated call center technology. Katz developed a portfolio of more than 50 US patents covering his innovations. His inventions were related to toll free numbers, automated attendant, automated call distribution, voice response unit, computer telephone integration and speech recognition.Bednarek et al., "Katz Patent Reexamination: A Change in Momentum Favoring RAKTL Targets", ShawPittman, June 9, 2004 As a philanthropist and Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center board member, Ronald Katz helped launch UCLA Operation Mend. He was the son of musician and comedian Mickey Katz, the brother of Academy Award-winning actor Joel Grey, and uncle to actress and Dirty Dancing star Jennifer Grey.
Inventor and businessman Katz was born on March 10, 1936.U.S. Public Records Index Vol 1 (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), 2010.Pfeiffer, Eric "Setting patent traps" Forbes Magazine, June 24, 2002 In 1961, Katz co-founded Telecredit, Inc. with Robert Goldman."Checking the Bouncers", TIME Magazine, January 4, 1963 This was the first company to "enable merchants to verify consumer checks over the phone using an automated system without the assistance of a live operator". In 1988, Mr. Katz formed a partnership with American Express Company to provide call processing services. That partnership later became First Data Corporation.
Katz also founded Ronald A. Katz Technology Licensing, L.P. (RAKTL). RAKTL's primary purpose is to license the Katz patent portfolio to companies using automated call centers. Over 150 companies have taken a license to the patents."The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. and Ronald A. Katz Technology Licensing, L.P. Settle Patent Lawsuit and Enter Into License Agreement", PR Newswire, January 16, 2007 RAKTL has thus earned approximately a billion dollars in license fees,Garretson, Rob, "Intellectual Security: Patent Everything You Do, Before Someone Else Does", Security IT Hub, Dec 5, 2005 including by suing accused infringers who refuse to take a license.
Katz also founded Telebuyer, LLC, a privately held company that commercializes inventions he made relating to electronic commerce and network-based monitoring systems. In the early 1990s, Katz developed a computer-controlled video system for monitoring remote locations, and an advanced scheduling and routing system for telephone and video communications. Katz leveraged his knowledge and work in these areas to create an electronic commerce system to help businesses reach customers in remote locations.
Katz died on March 28, 2025, at the age of 89.
His patents
Characteristics The written description of the invention in Katz's patents usually runs 20 to 40 pages, but the claims run into hundreds of pages. Katz denied that his strategy is to overly amend and complicate his patents.
Reexamination In 2004, the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office ordered four of the Katz patents to be reexamined.United States Patent and Trademark Office OG Notices: 04 May 2004 The Director determined that a "substantial new question of patentability" had been raised. Since then, certain members of the public have also filed requests for reexamination of ten more Katz patents. These requests were based on said members of the public submitting new prior art that could raise "substantial new question of patentability" as to the validity of the patents. In three of the cases, the patent office disagreed and felt that the new prior art was not sufficiently strong to warrant a reexamination. In the other seven cases, the patent office agreed and ordered reexaminations. All reexaminations were still ongoing as of January 2007.
Partial list Partial list of Ronald A. Katz patents licensed to Citibank as of January 3, 2006
List of patents undergoing reexamination Official Gazette of the USPTO, 2004 - 2006
Partial list of Katz licensees AT&TBills, Steve, "Patent Lawsuit Involving Citi Seen Having Big Implications", American Banker, July 27, 2005 Bank of America Citibank Delta Air Lines Hewlett-Packard Home Shopping Network IBM Microsoft Sears, Roebuck and CompanyPress Release, , Los Angeles, April 6, 2004. Wachovia Wells Fargo TD Ameritrade Equifax CanadaTerms of Use
See also Call center Interactive voice response Patent troll Reexamination
Notes