Salim Kara

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Salim Kara
Born (1949-06-01) June 1, 1949 (age 74)
Zanzibar, Tanzania
NationalityCanadian
CitizenshipCanada (1978)
Occupation(s)Inventor, Entrepreneur
Organization(s)Kara Technology, Inc.
E-Stamp Corporation
iMobile Payment
myiStamp Inc.
Kara Vault Inc.
Known forPC Postage
Spouses
Yasmin Kara
​
​
(m. 1972; died 2013)​
  • Shainaaz Kara (m. 2016)
Children
  • Shairose Kara
  • Alykhan Kara
  • Alnoor Kara

Salim G. Kara (born June 1, 1949) is an Indian-origin Tanzanian-born Canadian inventor,[1][2] and Founder-CEO of Kara Technology, Inc., E-Stamp Corporation & and iMobile Payment.[3] As well as the co-founder of myiStamp Inc.[4] and Kara Vault, Inc. [5] He is credited with creating digital postage and is known as its inventor. He holds over 90 patents, 44 of which were issued in the United States.[6][7]

Early life and education[edit]

Salim was born in Zanzibar, Tanzania in 1949. He did his engineering in refrigeration and air conditioning followed by obtaining a Computer Numerical Control (CNC) Programming Diploma in Los Angeles, CA in 1988. His grandparents hail from Gujarat, India, who migrated and settled on the islands of Zanzibar in Africa in 19th century.[8]

Career[edit]

Kara migrated to Toronto in 1974 and started a refrigeration business with his two brothers, Sultan and Shiraz Kara. In 1993, he invented 'PC Postage'. In 1994, he secured several patents on a PC-rendered postage stamp. Kara founded a company in Houston, Texas - E-Stamp Corporation - to bring the concept of PC Postage to the American public after first satisfying the United States Postal Service and its consultants at Carnegie Mellon University that the concept could be implemented without risk to Postal Service revenues.

In March 1998, E-stamp got approval by the U.S. Postal Service[9] for the first product under the IBI Program that was allowed to produce electronic postage using an off-the-shelf PC.[10] In 1998, Salim Kara left E-Stamp Corporation,[11] paving the way for it to publicly trade with a market capitalization exceeding US$1 billion. In 2001, the technology, intellectual property and trade names of E-Stamp were sold to Stamps.com, which has recently been acquired at a valuation of $6.6 Billion, by Thoma Bravo, a leading software investment firm.[12] Following his innovative development of PC Postage, Kara proceeded to develop additional concepts for secure Internet based payment systems operating through Kara Technology and later iMobile Payment, Inc. where he developed additional ordering and payment systems, secure virtual tickets and virtual credit cards. His company's core technology was approved by BlackBerry and he became a BlackBerry ISV Alliance Member in 2006.[10]

In 2016, Salim and his son, Alnoor Kara, co-founded myiStamp Inc. and Kara Vault Inc. They have patents pending on their "Stamps on Demand"[4] and "Smart Collision Certificate" technologies.[5]

Lawsuit against Stamps.com[edit]

Kara filed a major patent infringement suit against Stamps.com asserting misappropriation of technology. This litigation resulted in a settlement in which Kara Technology, Inc. was awarded US$5.5 million. A Stamps.com press release stated, “On July 27, 2010,[13] the Company entered into binding terms of a settlement agreement with Kara Technology to resolve all outstanding litigation between the parties. Under the terms of the agreement Stamps.com will make a US$5.1 million payment for settlement of all claims asserted in the litigation, will purchase the patents asserted in the litigation for US$0.4 million, and will grant Salim Kara options on 35,000 shares of Stamps.com stock.”[14][15][16][17][18]

Personal life[edit]

He is married and has three children.[8]

Awards and recognition[edit]

Further reading[edit]

  • Bleumer, Gerrit (November 25, 2007). Electronic Postage Systems: Technology, Security, Economics (Volume 26 of Advances in Information Security). Springer Science & Business Media. p. 67. ISBN 978-0-38-7446-06-6.
  • W. Moore, Carlos; Petty, J. William; Longenecker, Justin (2003). Small Business Management: An Entrepreneurial Emphasis. Thomson South-Western Inc. p. 32. ISBN 978-0-32-406554-1.
  • The National Rural Letter Carrier, Volume 97. National Rural Letter Carriers' Association. 1998. p. 196.
  • Official Gazette of the United States Patent and Trademark Office: Patents, Volume 1244, Issue 4. U.S. Department of Commerce. 2001. p. 4530.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Bransten, Lisa (April 16, 1998). "E-Stamp Aims to Lick A Long Postal Tradition". The Wall Street Journal.
  2. ^ "Start-Up Postage Firm E-Stamp Names Ewald to Succeed Kapoor". The Wall Street Journal. March 3, 1999.
  3. ^ "E-Post Pioneer's Start-Up Flounders". The Online Reporter. January 22, 2001. Archived from the original on March 24, 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Stamps on Demands". myiStamp Inc. Retrieved 2022-08-03.
  5. ^ a b "Smart Collision Certificates". Kara Vault Inc. Retrieved 2022-11-02.
  6. ^ "Patents by Inventor Salim G. Kara". Justia. Retrieved 2018-03-14.
  7. ^ Raga, Rao (January 22, 2001). "E-Post Pioneer's Start-Up Flounders". The Online Reporter. Archived from the original on March 24, 2018.
  8. ^ a b Murali Krishna, Bala. "Salim Kara". No. April 2008. SiliconIndia Magazine. Retrieved 2008-11-21.
  9. ^ "Not All Bad: An Historical Perspective on Software Patents". 11 (2). University of Michigan. 2005. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  10. ^ a b Bleumer, Gerrit (November 25, 2007). Electronic Postage Systems: Technology, Security, Economics (Volume 26 of Advances in Information Security). Springer Science & Business Media. p. 67. ISBN 978-0-38-7446-06-6.
  11. ^ Patience, Nick (March 4, 1999). "E-Stamp appoints New CEO & Ink Distribution Deals". HighBeam. Computergram International. Archived from the original on March 24, 2018.
  12. ^ "Stamps.com Agrees to Thoma Bravo Buyout in $6.6 Billion Deal". Bloomberg.com. 2021-07-09. Retrieved 2021-10-26.
  13. ^ "FORM 8-K: STAMPS.COM FILES CURRENT REPORT". Washington. Federal News Service. August 3, 2010. Archived from the original on March 24, 2018.
  14. ^ "Stamps.com Sues Pitney". The Online Reporter. HighBeam. June 18, 2001. Archived from the original on March 24, 2018.
  15. ^ "PC Postage Inventor Sues Stamps.com, Claims NetStamps Is a Rip-off.(Kara Technology Inc)". ePostal News. November 8, 2004. Archived from the original on March 24, 2018.
  16. ^ "E-Stamp Settles Patent Litigation With Pitney Bowes". DMNews. July 3, 2001.
  17. ^ Campanelli, Melissa (December 24, 2003). "Pitney Bowes, Stamps.com Settle Patent Lawsuits". DM News.
  18. ^ "KARA TECHNOLOGY INCORPORATED, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. STAMPS.COM INC., Defendant-Cross Appellant". FindLaw. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  19. ^ a b "Taking Internet Technology to New Heights". NRI World. August 19, 2002.
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