ART+COM Sues Google Earth Over Patent Infringement

On Feb 20, 2014 ART+COM filed lawsuit against Google, on charging that Google Earth products infringe U.S. Patent No. RE44,550, entitled "Method and Device for Pictorial Representation of Space-related Data," relating to its Google Earth Technology. It also claims that the infringement was willful and intentional.

ACI makes the following claims:

1)The development history of Google Earth indicates knowledge and infringement by key Google employees
2)Google Earth "bears remarkable similarities to ART+COM's commercial system, which was developed nearly a decade prior to Google's introduction of Google Earth."

The claimed patent and method for rendering geographical objects (Terravision) was reportedly developed in the mid-1990s by individuals who assigned the patent to ACI, which is not a "patent troll."

Terravision is a networked virtual representation of the earth based on satellite images, aerial shots, and altitude and architectural data. It provides an environment to organize and access information spatially.

The complaint also includes side-by-side graphical comparisons of Terravision (left) and Google Earth (right).



One of the more sensational aspects of the complaint is the contention that the design and concepts behind Terravision were essentially stolen by people who came to develop Google Earth. It traces the employment histories of Google’s Michael Jones (Google Earth CTO) and Brian McClendon (now in charge of Google Maps).

The complaint says that both Jones and McClendon were employees of SGI (Silicon Graphics) whose computer workstations were used to develop and render Terravision. ACI states that it believes both Jones and McClendon were aware of Terravision and generally familiar with its capabilities from their tenure with SGI.

Jones and McClendon were both later with Keyhole, which was acquired by Google in 2004 and became the basis for Google Earth.

Depending on the outcome of this litigation, ACI may also have similar claims against Apple based on its acquisitions of Poly9 in 2010 and C3 Technologies in 2011. These two companies contributed substantially to the development of Apple Maps.