Tuesday, November 10. 2009

Slew of Online Mappers Sued by WebMap Technologies for Patent Infringement

Fifteen companies that offer Web maps being sued by WebMap Technologies LLC for infringement of patent 6,772,142 called Method and Apparatus for Collecting and Expressing Geographically Referenced Data.

The patent in question: 6,772,142 "Method and Apparatus for Collecting and Expressing Geographically Referenced Data"

It's from 2004 and originally assigned to Cornell Research Foundation, Inc. (Ithaca, NY) and National Audubon Society, Inc. (New York, NY). It seems to have come from work with saving data about birds. Both organizations are known for their work with birds.

The companies in the suit include Expedia, Google, Microsoft, the Washington Post, Ticketmaster, Travelocity, Tripadvisor, Yahoo, Yellow Pages, Yelp, and Zagat Survey. (full list here)

WebMap Technologies is based in Frisco, TX and claims to be the only licensee of the patent. WebMap Tech alleges in the complaint that Google has known about the potential infringement for some time before the suit was filed. The plaintiff wants a permanent injunction enjoining defendants, damages, costs, expenses, interest, enhanced damages, attorneys' fees and other relief to which it may be entitled. Oh, and a jury trial. The suite was filed Nov 3.

Fast Company refers to Webmap Technologies as a defunct navigation company (but TechCrunch confirms that company is not involved in the suit, it's just a company that had the same name). No one seems at all sure who is behind the news WebMap Technologies.

Fast Company calls the suit "the most bloated and fatuous IP lawsuit in recent memory." It also points out that the Bilski decision pretty much negated any software patents making this case moot. But, Bilski is now under review by the Supreme Court (the case began Nov 9, WSJ coverage). So, if it's overturned Webmap Technologies could be in business, if in fact the patent is valid and the companies did infringe.

TG Daily via GIS Lounge

See also: SE Texas Record, Fast Company, TechCrunch

Posted by Adena Schutzberg in Patents at 07:57 | Comments (2) | Trackbacks (0) |

Wednesday, September 2. 2009

Palm's Location-based Advertising Patent App

The patent is titled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING ADVERTISEMENT DATA TO A MOBILE COMPUTING DEVICE" and many think it's behind the recent "find" that the Pre reports its location back to Palm. That made headlines last month even though users are told in the license it would happen.

The app was made public in August but was filed last year.

- via Boy Genius

Posted by Adena Schutzberg in Patents at 07:02 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) |

Friday, August 14. 2009

Judges Invalidates Encyclopedia Britannica Patent on Interactive Maps

This case has been brewing for some years. Encyclopedia Britannica filed suit against a seven GPS vendors (TomTom and Toyota among them) alleging patent infringement on an old patent about providing data on interactive maps. The case was tossed out by US district judge Lee Yeakel in Austin, Texas since the patent was determined to be invalid.

The patent related to displaying information about locations, something EB did in its electronic encyclopedias. The company felt that invention was being used in navigation devices and began filing suit against GPS and in-car navigation device makers in 2006 and 2007.

- Business Mirror

Posted by Adena Schutzberg in Patents, Satellite Navigation at 07:43 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) |

Tuesday, July 21. 2009

Apple Patent App: Better Estimation of Travel Time

MacNN reports on the application filed in 2008, but only recently revealed. As I understand it, the system uses crowd sourced information, along with specific information about the vehicle in question, for better time prediction. Titled, Adaptive Navigation System for Estimating Travel Times, the patent is authored by Brett Gregory Alten.

via Apple Insider

Posted by Adena Schutzberg in Patents, Apple at 06:43 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) |

Friday, July 10. 2009

Update: Let them read and comment on U.S. patent applications

Bad news: the Peer to Patent website was shut down last month (and apparently almost no one noticed). Officially, the pilot was closed, but it doesn't look good for a reopening. Mike Masnick suggests that there was simply not enough incentive for people to review patents before they were given. Comments to his post point out the interface for the site was poor.

- Tech Dirt

Posted by Adena Schutzberg in Patents at 13:02 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) |

Apple ID app Patent Application: More Information About Object Around You

The patent is called "Systems and methods for identifying objects and providing information related to identified objects," or ID app for short. It revolves around a solution for somehow identifying (via RFID, GPS, photo, etc.) an object and then comparing it to a database of objects to provide further information on the object. There are already some apps out there that use photos of objects or photos of barcodes for just that purpose.

- InformationWeek

Posted by Adena Schutzberg in Patents, Apple at 08:45 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) |