Ottawa app developer fights back against patent troll

Most city dwellers appreciate knowing when their bus will arrive. But not all cities are rushing to make that information available and easy to access. In response, app developers have stepped in to fill the gap.

One such developer, Larry Dunkelman, thought he was doing smartphone users in Ottawa a favor when he wrote an app that tells OC Transpo riders when their bus is about to arrive. The free app, BusBuddy, became reasonably popular, and Dunkelman even makes a few dollars in profit from advertising, according to the Ottawa Citizen.

Then, without warning, he found himself on the receiving end of a lawsuit from a firm that claimed to have the patent for the technology used by his app and the OC Transpo system.

"They claim to have patented the method of using GPS location on vehicles to determine when they will arrive at a certain place," Dunkelman told the news source. "This applies to buses, package delivery, airplanes, trains—any business that employs a fleet of vehicles in which they track their location to arrive at a certain place, is open to this patent troll."

The bill came to $10,000.

But Dunkelman decided to fight back. He found a lawyer specializing in intellectual property, who began zeroing in on a number of holes in the lawsuit's claims. As it turned out, the suit consisted of a "stock statement of claim" that had little to do with the actual contents of Dunkelman's app. 

Eventually, the lawsuit was discontinued, and now it is Dunkelman's turn to try to recoup his legal costs.

The moral of this story? Don't take lawsuits from patent trolls lying down. Seek out a Phoenix business attorney who specializes in intellectual property law.

Categorised in: Intellectual Property Law

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