Apple agrees to settle Apple Maps infringement case with LBS

Apple has agreed to a settlement and licensing agreement in a patent infringement case involving the use of navigation technology in Apple Maps, AppleInsider reports.

It is reported that the lawsuit was filed by LBS Innovations (hereinafter referred to as "LBS") in April 2019 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, accusing Apple Maps of infringing patents owned by its patent licensing company.

LBS mentioned in the lawsuit that Apple Maps and devices including the application infringed its US patent called "Situational Information System", patent number 6091956, which was first applied for in 1997. According to reports, the patent details a "wireless system for providing services and time-critical information about places and events to mobile computers and their users", and specifically mentions travel and transit time, traffic conditions, nearby attractions and the user's current location. In addition, LBS emphasized that Apple has been aware of the existence of this patent since at least 2009.

LBS claimed that Apple's infringement caused it irreparable harm and requested damages and post-judgment royalties.

According to court documents, Apple and LBS appear to have reached a settlement and signed a licensing agreement on July 6. Since that date, both companies have filed motions to dismiss the complaint and related appeals. Recently, the trial court granted the motion and dismissed the case.

The specific terms of the settlement and licensing agreement between Apple and LBS are not yet clear.

In this case, the digital rights organization Electronic Frontier Foundation pointed out that LBS is a patent licensing company owned by two New York patent lawyers. It has sued more than 60 companies in the Eastern District of Texas since 2011. EFF also said that although LBS claimed to have invented the Internet map, digital maps and electronic maps were already widely known in 1997.