• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, November 1, 2016

Ad tech rivals Criteo and SteelHouse have agreed to dismiss their respective claims, ending the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the companies said in a joint announcement.

The companies agree that each provides a different business solution based on distinct attribution and pricing methods, and the more important focus should turn to improving transparency in the ad-tech industry.

Neither company could comment on the long battle, per a legal agreement, but it all began earlier this year when Criteo alleged it lost business because of counterfeit click fraud, meaning that SteelHouse would falsely take credit for visitors to a retailer's or brand's Web page. The filing suggested that SteelHouse undercut its business and stole potential clients by counterfeiting clicks, which often happens seconds after legitimate clicks are attributed to Criteo.

The rivalry escalated. SteelHouse fired back, but Criteo managed to gather sworn testimony from a few SteelHouse customers such as Deckers Outdoor, TOMS, and Vistaprint, among others, explaining how they were misled while working with the company.