[Patents] PATNEWS: Infringement lawsuit filed against map drawing Web sites

[Gregory Aharonian srctran@world.std.com]

!19990827  Infringement lawsuit filed against map drawing Web sites

    As a I-told-you-so followup to this morning's PATNEWS summarizing the
PTO's software and Internet patenting debacle, newswires today report that
publishers Knight Ridder, Hearst, Scripps and the New York Times were sued
by a Colorado company, which accused the publishers' Web sites map drawing
features of infringing two patents.  The company, Civix-DDI (a merger
of Civix Corp. and Directional Data Inc), is asserting patents 5682525
(Jan. 1995 filing) and 4974170 (Jan. 1988 filing), which are basically
patents for drawing featured maps at distributed kiosks, apparently with
the argument that a Web browser is a kiosk.

    Beyond problems with claim construction (at least for the two claims
below, both a local user and a remote database are elements of the claim,
so that neither party infringes the entire claim), these patents are so
dubious, the '525 patent moreso, [CHORUS ON] FOR NOT CITING ANY NON-PATENT
PRIOR ART, AGAIN WITH A PARTY UNETHICALLY FILING A LAWSUIT AND NOT DOING
ANY SERIOUS PRE-FILING VALIDITY SEARCHING [CHORUS OFF].  My money is that
this lawsuit goes down flaming on a motion for summary judgment, since the
defendants can easily afford some the best litigators who with the good
invalidating art that is out there, can prepare a killer invalidity
opinion.

    This lawsuit also illustrates yet another negative side effect of the
PTO's cavalier attitude towards too many bad software patents issuing.
The PTO:
        "[We've] seen a lot of criticism of the patent office out
        there, but I haven't seen anybody file [an Internet patent]
        re-examination request.  If they don't think we're doing a
        great job, then maybe they should step up to the place and
        file a reexamination"
Had you read the claims and abstracts below, before hearing about this suit,
would you have reasonably thought Web publishing mapping sites would be
infringing?  No, as there are too many ways to read too many crappy patent
claims to determine which ones you might be harassed with, in order to
maybe be preemptive and file a reexamination request.  Instead, you have 
to wait until you get sued, and then start paying big bucks to defend your
legitimate activities, all because the PTO wasn't able, and still isn't
able, to properly examiner software patents.

    Maybe I should set up a Web site for betting pools for betting on how
long software and Internet patent infringement lawsuits last before the
summary judgment or invalidity ruling comes down, www.ecrappatbet.com.
I have this business plan and ....................................

Greg Aharonian
Internet Patent News Service

P.S. Some lawyers who are part of the problem, not part of the solution
keep on asking me what law is being broken when I say that it is unethical
to sue someone with first doing an invalidity study to compensate for the
PTO's inability to do so.  There is no law, other than the law of common
courtesy.  Everyone knows the system doesn't work, that software patents
being presumed to be valid is a farce (the lawyers do, and if their clients
don't, they should be told), so before you sue and force others to waste
their money, do some investigating of your own.

                              ====================

5682525
System and methods for remotely accessing a selected group of items of
    interest from a database
Civix Corporation
Issued/Filed Dates: Oct. 28, 1997 / Jan. 11, 1995
Abstract:
    A user can access a common database from a remote communications port,
at any qualified location, to generate a map or other positional information
which locates selected items of interest, e.g., businesses, stores,
architectural sites, and the like. The database contains information
representing the items of interest, including, for each of the items of
interest, positional coordinates, a geographic vicinity, and a selected
category. The positional coordinates discretely locate the vicinity, while
the vicinity specifies the exact locations of the items of interest in the
selected category. For example, a user in New York can select the display
of sporting shops in the area surrounding Chicago O'Hara International
Airport selectively. A user can also access a port and display locations
of items of interest within the same vicinity as the user and relative to
the user's position. The database can be modified from qualified remote
locations to change, or add to, the information therein. An advertisement
can be tagged to the display or print out as an association with the
selected items of interest.

What is claimed is:                                                         
    1. System for remotely determining the position of a selected category
of items of interest in a selected geographic vicinity from a database,
the system comprising

  * (A) a database for storing information about a plurality of items of    
interest, the information including, for each of the items of interest,     
positional coordinates, a geographic vicinity, and at least one associated  
category, the positional coordinates locating the geographic vicinity,

  * (B) a communications link for communicating between a user of the
system and the database,

  * (C) means for transmitting a portion of the information in the database
to the user via the link upon receipt of a request signal representative of
a selected category and geographic vicinity, the transmitted portion of the
information including identification of a position for each of the items of
interest within the selected category and geographic vicinity and relative
to the positional coordinates and other items of interest within the
vicinity, and

  * (D) a port for remotely accessing the portion of information via the
link, the port generating the request signal in response to inputs by the
user which are representative of the selected category and geographic
vicinity, the port having a user interface for accepting the inputs and
for indicating to the user the position of each of the items of interest
in the selected category and geographic vicinity.

                                   ==========

4974170
Electronic directory for identifying a selected group of subscribers
Directional Data, Inc.
Issued/Filed Dates: Nov. 27, 1990 / Jan. 25, 1990 (from Jan. 21, 1988)
Abstract:
    A kiosk is placed on a sidewalk and has stored in an electronic memory
the locations of businesses, historical sites, or the like within a
predetermined distance of the kiosk. In addition, a map of the area
surrounding the kiosk is stored. The kiosk has an input panel having
a plurality of input keys, each key corresponding to a characteristic of
the subscribers stored in the electronic memory.  A user activates the
apparatus by pressing one of the input keys.  This causes an electronic
element to search the subscribers to determine the group of subscribers
having that characteristic. Then, a map is generated, and the location of
the selected group of subscribers are overlaid onto the map. The map with
the group of subscribers thereon is then printed and dispensed to the user.

We claim:
    1. Apparatus for identifying locations within a predetermined region
of a selected group of a set of a plurality of subscribers relative to the
location of a user station comprising,

  * a user station within said predetermined region for interrogating said  
apparatus,

  * means for generating a map of said predetermined region,

  * data base means having data regarding each subscriber of said set of
subscribers, said data including coordinates of said map identifying the
location for each subscriber in said predetermined region of said set of
subscribers and a characteristic for each subscriber, wherein said
characteristic is common to a group of said subscribers,

  * input means at said user station for identifying at least one
characteristic of said group,

  * means responsive to the identification at said user station of said at
least one characteristic for searching said data base means with reference
to said at least one characteristic to determine the members of said
selected group as at least those subscribers having locations in said
predetermined region and said at least one characteristic,

  * and means for displaying said map at said user station with the
locations thereon of said members of said selected group relative to the
location of said user station.