Google Sued by Skyhook
On Thursday, September 20, 2012, Skyhook Wireless (plaintiff) recorded a suit against Google (defendant) for patent infringement in the U.S Court of Delaware (case no. 1:12-cv-01177).
Skyhook is a company that develops Wi-Fi positioning system, technology for determining geographical location and cell tower triangulation. Google provides internet-related products and services, including internet search, cloud computing, software and advertising technologies.
The patents involved in this suit are assigned to Skyhook and are listed below:
Patent No. |
Current Assignee (source: MaxVal’s Assignment Database[*]) |
Issue Date |
Expiry Date |
Title |
Dec 21, 2010 |
Jan 22, 2027 |
System and method for estimating positioning error within a WLAN-based positioning system |
||
Sep 13, 2011 |
Jan 22, 2027 |
System and method for estimating positioning error within a WLAN-based positioning system |
||
Sep 20, 2011 |
Jul 16, 2029 |
Systems and methods for using a satellite positioning system to detect moved WLAN access points |
||
Apr 10, 2012 |
Jul 16, 2029 |
Systems and methods for using a satellite positioning system to detect moved WLAN access points |
||
Jul 17, 2012 |
Jul 16, 2029 |
Systems and methods for using a satellite positioning system to detect moved WLAN access points |
||
Aug 14, 2012 |
Jul 16, 2029 |
Systems and methods for using a satellite positioning system to detect moved WLAN access points |
||
Jul 24, 2012 |
Jul 06, 2027 |
System and method of gathering and caching WLAN packet information to improve position estimates of a WLAN positioning device |
||
Nov 08, 2011 |
Jun 05, 2029 |
Systems and methods for determining position using a WLAN-PS estimated position as an initial position in a hybrid positioning system |
||
Dec 30, 2008 |
Feb 23, 2027 |
Methods and systems for estimating a user position in a WLAN positioning system based on user assigned access point locations |
According to the complaint, Skyhook alleges that the defendant has infringed the plaintiff’s patents through its location based services, Android Operating System and Google Maps. The estimation of positioning error is an integral function in these products. In particular, they contain software modules that enable estimation of positioning error, which infringes the above patents.
The suit says that, Google was aware of Skyhook’s patent portfolio since 2005 regarding wireless technology and the corresponding patents are listed in Skyhook’s website and Google has reverse-engineered Skyhook's technology which is also included in the above patents.
Skyhook has previously filed similar suit against Google and the details are as listed below:
Case No. |
Patents Involved |
Expiry Date[†] |
Products |
Date Filed |
Status |
Oct 28, 2025 |
Wi-Fi location database |
Sep 15, 2010 |
Pending |
||
Oct 28, 2025 |
|||||
Oct 28, 2025 |
|||||
Oct 28, 2025 |
For more details, visit MaxVal-IP and subscribe to our Litigation alerts.
[*] Patent Assignment Alerts are automated email alerts sent to you when assignments relating to target applications/patents/entities of interest are recorded.
[†] Expected expiry date. Patent Term Estimator is a free web-based tool that automatically calculates patent terms and expiration dates for U.S. utility patents.
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