The patent holder filed the complaint in the Western District of Texas on Tuesday, accusing Uber Technologies Inc. of infringing United States Patent Nos. 9,921,077 and 10,502,583. Bluestone Ventures Inc.’s two patents reportedly relate to technology that enables mobile devices to send location updates to receiving devices for use in vehicle dispatch applications.
Before getting to the substance of its claims, Bluestone, a Virginia company, dedicated several pages to jurisdiction and venue allegations tying Uber, a San Francisco-based, Delaware-incorporated company to the judicial district. It contended that because of Uber’s service center in Austin, Texas and 290 employees in the area, the court has jurisdiction over the defendant. Because Uber has “committed acts of infringement in this district and has a regular and established place of business in this district,” venue is proper, the complaint avers.
Bluestone explained that its ’077 patent entitled “Method and System for Dynamic Estimation and Predictive Route Generation,” was issued in May 2018. It reportedly enables technology that “improve[s] the decision making process in determining which mobile device is closest to the central point.”
The patent’s method allegedly uses real-time location updates to better the calculation and decision making processes. The ’583 patent, bearing the same title as the foregoing, reportedly has the same specification and addresses the same technological challenges.
Bluestone contended that Uber “hosts, develops, programs, operates, supports, and/or provides network services to enable on demand transportation for both riders and drivers.” The defendant reportedly infringed one or more claims of both patents through components of its offered services and rider and driver applications. Among other things, Uber allegedly makes use of the proprietary distance calculation technology to determine the closest driver available to a rider and to show the rider how far away the inbound driver is in real-time.
The complaint requests declaratory relief, damages, and an award of Bluestone’s attorneys’ fees and costs. The plaintiff is represented by The Mort Law Firm PLLC and of-counsel Daignault Iyer LLP.
