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GEOTAG, INC. v. WHERE 2 GET IT, INC. et al

March 23, 2011

Geotag [NPE] filed suit against Where 2 Get It, Seiko Epson and 15 others over a patent related to web pages that incorporate geographical searches. 3/14, District of Delaware, 2:2011cv00175. Microsoft and Google filed a complaint (March 1, 2011) seeking declaratory judgment of invalidity and noninfringement against GeoTag. GeoTag has filed suit against companies that use Google and Microsoft web mapping services. The complaint filed by Microsoft and Google alleges that, “The suits have placed a cloud on Plaintiffs’ web mapping services, have caused customers to seek relief from Plaintiffs, and have created a justifiable controversy between Plaintiffs and GeoTag.” The complaint also claims that in 2009, “M2 Global Ltd. paid GeoMas an aggregate consideration of nearly $119M for the ’474 Patent and some other intellectual property.” The patent has been assigned multiple times to entities, each with ties to John Veenstra, who was CEO of ZLand (the original assignee) and a co-inventor of the patent. On his website, Veenstra claims to have invented both factory-built housing and the fiberglass bathtub. In 2006, the Geotag patent was asserted against Idearc, a Verizon spin off. In 2007, the founder of Geomas reported that he’d raised $20M to enforce the patent. Friedman Suder Cooke approached RPX regarding potential sublicense rights for members in May 2010. GeoTag filed an S-1 for a public offering in November 2010. http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1504463/000119312510258592/ds1.htm


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