Aristotle Political Data-Mining Technology Cleared

Significant election, fundraising and compliance advantage seen for company's clients

WASHINGTON, March 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In an important election law decision, the Federal Election Commission has voted to close the file and take no action on a complaint against Aristotle filed by competitor NGP Software that alleged the company was improperly using Federal Election Commission contributor data. The decision was officially communicated to Aristotle's attorney, Stephen Hershkowitz, partner of the election law firm Sandler, Reiff and Young, following the commission vote. Hershkowitz is a former Assistant General Counsel at the Federal Election Commission and, along with Joe Sandler and Neil Reiff, represents Aristotle on matters involving election law.

"This is a significant decision that clarifies the appropriate use of Commission data," said Hershkowitz. "After devoting considerable resources and carefully considering the issues, the Commission made the correct decision."

The FEC legal victory also boosts Aristotle's patent filing announced two weeks ago, making the company's patent-pending technology for data-mining by political organizations more valuable.

The patent application, prepared by the national law firm DLA Piper, is entitled:

"Integration of Voter and Contributor Data Into Political Software and Compliance Systems for Purposes of Solicitation, Compliance, Vetting and Calls to Action."

The patent covers proprietary technology and enables users to access, mine and harness contribution disclosure records in a manner consistent with the law and for compliance purposes. Aristotle's platform also incorporates detailed state contributor and voter lists with highly accurate consumer databases to illuminate exactly how much a donor has given, how much they can give, and to suggest the maximum they might agree to contribute where allowed by law.

"Aristotle goes to great lengths to design its products to be 100% legal, and we are the only company that unconditionally guarantees compliance with FEC and state disclosure laws. Aristotle clients now have a significant data-mining advantage using our very powerful software," said Phillips.

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