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Case 6:21-cv-00685 Document 1 Filed 06/29/21 Page 1 of 17
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`IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
`WACO DIVISION
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`BLUESTONE VENTURES INC.,
`
`
`
` Plaintiff,
`
` v.
`
`UBER TECHNOLOGIES, INC.,
`
` Defendant.
`
`
`
` Case No. 6:21-cv-00685
`
`
`
` Jury Trial Demanded
`
`COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT
`
`Plaintiff Bluestone Ventures Inc. (“Bluestone”), by and through its counsel files
`
`this Complaint against Uber Technologies, Inc. (“Uber”) for patent infringement of
`
`United States Patent Nos. 9,921,077 (“’707 patent”) and 10,502,583 (“’583 patent”)
`
`(collectively “patents-in-suit”) and alleges as follows:
`
`NATURE OF THE ACTION
`
`1.
`
`This is an action for patent infringement arising under the patent laws of
`
`the United States, 35 U.S.C. §§ 1 et seq.
`
`THE PARTIES
`
`2.
`
`Plaintiff Bluestone is a privately held company organized under the laws
`
`of the Commonwealth of Virginia with its principal place of business at 3949 Pender
`
`Dr., Suite 350, Fairfax, VA 22030.
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`
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`

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`Case 6:21-cv-00685 Document 1 Filed 06/29/21 Page 2 of 17
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`3.
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`On information and belief, Defendant Uber is incorporated under the laws
`
`of the State of Delaware with its principal place of business in the State of California.
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`Uber may be served with process through its registered agent CT Corporation System,
`
`1999 Bryan Street, Suite 900, Dallas, Texas 75201.
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`4.
`
`On information and belief, Uber has been registered to do business in the
`
`state of Texas under Texas SOS file number 0801630825 since on or about July 25, 2012.
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`JURISDICTION AND VENUE
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`5.
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`This Court has subject matter jurisdiction over this action pursuant to 28
`
`U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1338(a) because this action arises under the patent laws of the United
`
`States, 35 U.S.C. §§ 1 et seq.
`
`6.
`
`Uber is subject to this Court’s personal jurisdiction in accordance with due
`
`process and/or the Texas Long Arm Statute because, in part, Uber “[r]ecruits Texas
`
`residents, directly or through an intermediary located in this state, for employment
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`inside or outside this state.” See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 17.042.
`
`7.
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`This Court also has personal jurisdiction over Uber because Uber has
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`continuous and systematic business contacts with the State of Texas. Defendant directly
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`conducts business extensively throughout the State of Texas, by distributing, making,
`
`using, offering for sale, selling, and advertising (including the provision of interactive
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`web pages and Mobile Applications) its services in the State of Texas and in this district.
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`Defendant has purposefully and voluntarily made its infringing systems available to
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`residents of this district and into the stream of commerce with the intention and
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`expectation that they will be purchased and used by consumers in this district.
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`
`
`2
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`

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`Case 6:21-cv-00685 Document 1 Filed 06/29/21 Page 3 of 17
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`8.
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`On information and belief, Uber maintains a substantial and continuous
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`business presence in this district, including Uber “Green Light” Service Centers in
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`Austin and San Antonio. On information and belief, such Centers are located at: (i) 507
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`Calles Street, Suite 120, Austin, Texas 78702 (See Fig. 1); and (ii) 121 Interpark Blvd.,
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`Suite 501, San Antonio, Texas 78216.
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`Fig. 1, result of Google Map search for Uber Greenlight, Austin.1
`
`
`
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`1 Any and all references to Internet content, unless noted otherwise, are cited as of May
`4, 2021.
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`
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`3
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`

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`Case 6:21-cv-00685 Document 1 Filed 06/29/21 Page 4 of 17
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`9.
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`On information and belief, the Uber Green Light Centers are locations in
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`which users of the Uber infringing apparatus can: (i) apply to drive as an Independent
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`Contractor for Uber; (ii) obtain assistance with Uber documents; and (iii) ask questions
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`about an Uber account. See, e.g., https://www.hyrecar.com/blog/uber-greenlight-hub/
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`10. On information and belief, Uber maintains a business presence in this
`
`district in the form of its office space in downtown Austin at 201 East 3rd Street. On
`
`information and belief, the Austin headquarters is the location from which Uber
`
`operations across seven states are managed. See
`
`https://www.statesman.com/photogallery/TX/20180302/PHOTOGALLERY/303029894/PH/1
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`11. On information and belief, Defendant maintains an ongoing and
`
`continuous business presence in the State of Texas and specifically within this district,
`
`which is illustrated by the fact that Uber has at least 290 employees residing in the
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`Austin, Texas area and within this district. See Fig. 2, Uber corporate profile page on
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`LinkedIn.com, which lists the location of Uber employees worldwide, and specifically
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`lists 290 such individual employees in the Austin, Texas area.
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`4
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`Case 6:21-cv-00685 Document 1 Filed 06/29/21 Page 5 of 17
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`Fig. 2.
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`12.
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`Venue is proper pursuant to at least 28 U.S.C. § 1400(b), at least because
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`Uber has committed acts of infringement in this district and has a regular and
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`established place of business in this district.
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`BACKGROUND
`
`United States Patent No. 9,921,077
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`13. On May 20, 2018, the United States Patent and Trademark Office
`
`(“USPTO”) duly and legally issued the ’077 patent entitled “Method and System for
`
`
`
`5
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`

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`Case 6:21-cv-00685 Document 1 Filed 06/29/21 Page 6 of 17
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`
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`Dynamic Estimation and Predictive Route Generation” to inventors Michael Sheha,
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`
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`Angie Sheha, Stephen Petilli, and Arun Yarlagadda.
`
`14.
`
`The ’077 patent is presumed valid under 35 U.S.C. § 282.
`
`15.
`
`Bluestone owns all rights, title, and interest in the ’077 patent.
`
`16.
`
`Bluestone has not granted Uber a license to the ’077 patent.
`
`17.
`
`The ’077 patent describes inter alia a method and system for enabling
`
`mobile devices to send location updates to a receiving device or devices for use in
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`vehicle dispatch applications.
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`18.
`
`In one embodiment, “a user wishing to calculate which mobile device is
`
`closest to a particular single location, or single mobile device, when using real-time
`
`location updates from each of the mobile devices can significantly improving the
`
`sorting calculation and decision process when compared to Line-Of-Sight (LOS)
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`distance calculations which are currently used in the prior art.” The ’077 patent
`
`explains that “calculating the estimated route in real-time, or based on the current
`
`position information for each mobile device, will significantly improve the decision
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`making process in determining which mobile device is closest to the central point.”
`
`19.
`
`In another embodiment, the ’077 patent explains that the “estimated route
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`preferably uses the provided map data to calculate the route, and is based on various
`
`vehicle-specific route preferences and map data information, such as one-way streets,
`
`posted road speeds, turn restrictions, etc.”
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`
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`6
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`

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`Case 6:21-cv-00685 Document 1 Filed 06/29/21 Page 7 of 17
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`United States Patent No. 10,502,583
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`20. On December 10, 2019, the USPTO duly and legally issued the ’583 patent
`
`entitled “Method and System for Dynamic Estimation and Predictive Route
`
`Generation” to inventors Michael Sheha, Angie Sheha, Stephen Petilli, and Arun
`
`Yalagadda.
`
`21.
`
`The ’583 patent is presumed valid under 35 U.S.C. § 282.
`
`22.
`
`Bluestone owns all rights, title and interest in the ’583 patent.
`
`23.
`
`Bluestone has not granted Uber a license to the ’583 patent.
`
`24.
`
`The specification of the ’583 patent is the same as the ’077 patent
`
`specification and solves the problems and provides the benefits recited above in
`
`connection with the ’077 patent.
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`CLAIMS FOR RELIEF
`
`Count I – Infringement of United States Patent No. 9,921,077
`
`25.
`
`Bluestone repeats, realleges, and incorporates by reference, as if fully set
`
`forth here, the allegations of the preceding paragraphs, as set forth above.
`
`26. Uber hosts, develops, programs, operates, supports, and/or provides
`
`network services to enable on demand transportation for both riders and drivers (“Uber
`
`Services”). See, e.g., https://developer.uber.com/docs/api-overview (providing an
`
`overview of the Uber API); https://developer.uber.com/docs/drivers (providing an
`
`overview of the Driver API).
`
`27. Uber develops, programs, supports, and makes available for download
`
`and installation mobile apps for Uber riders (“Uber Rider App”) and Uber drivers
`
`
`
`7
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`

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`Case 6:21-cv-00685 Document 1 Filed 06/29/21 Page 8 of 17
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`
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`(“Uber Driver App”) (collectively, the “Uber Apps”). The Uber Apps can be installed on
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`
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`computing devices (rider or driver devices) running several different operating
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`systems, including but not limited to certain versions of iOS and Android.
`
`28. As part of the Uber Services, Uber makes available a specialized vehicle
`
`navigation system to its drivers through the Uber Driver App. See, e.g.,
`
`https://www.uber.com/newsroom/a-new-navigation-experience-for-drivers/
`
`(describing Uber’s navigation system)
`
`29. Uber infringes one or more claims of the ’077 patent, including at least
`
`claim 1, through one or more components of the Uber Services, the Uber Driver App
`
`and/or the Uber Rider App (wherever appropriate, the Uber Services, the Uber Driver
`
`App, and the Uber Rider App are referred to collectively as “the Uber Driver System”).
`
`30. As shown in the image below, one or more components of the Uber Driver
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`System performs “receiving at a server, first data comprising a plurality of location
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`updates from a plurality of transportation provider mobile devices, each of the plurality
`
`of transportation provider mobile devices corresponding to a respective one of a
`
`plurality of transportation providers and each of the plurality of location updates
`
`representing a location of a respective one of the plurality of transportation providers at
`
`a particular time.” See Fig. 3.
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`8
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`

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`Case 6:21-cv-00685 Document 1 Filed 06/29/21 Page 9 of 17
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`Fig. 32
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`31. One or more components of the Uber Driver System performs “causing a
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`display of a plurality of indicators on a graphical representation of a map, each of the
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`plurality of indicators corresponding to a current position of a respective one of the
`
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`2 Figures 3-6 are screenshots from an Uber ride taken on May 17, 2021.
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`
`
`9
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`

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`Case 6:21-cv-00685 Document 1 Filed 06/29/21 Page 10 of 17
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`
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`plurality of transportation providers based on a respective one of the plurality of
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`
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`location updates.” See Figs. 3 and 4.
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`
`
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`Fig. 4
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`32. One or more components of the Uber Driver System performs “receiving,
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`
`
`at the server from a customer mobile device, second data comprising a pickup location
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`for a customer associated with the customer mobile device.” See Fig. 5.
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`10
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`Case 6:21-cv-00685 Document 1 Filed 06/29/21 Page 11 of 17
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`Fig. 5
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`33. One or more components of the Uber Driver System performs
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`“determining, for each of the plurality of transportation providers and using at least the
`
`first data and the pickup location, a distance between the transportation provider and
`
`
`
`11
`
`

`

`Case 6:21-cv-00685 Document 1 Filed 06/29/21 Page 12 of 17
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`
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`the pickup location and an estimated time of arrival of the transportation provider at
`
`
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`the pickup location.” See Figs. 3 and 5.
`
`34. One or more components of the Uber Driver System performs
`
`“generating, by the server, a sorted listing of the plurality of transportation providers
`
`using at least one of the determined distances between the transportation providers and
`
`the pickup location and the determined estimated times of arrival of the transportation
`
`providers at the pickup location.” See Figs. 3 and 5.
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`
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`
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`Fig. 6
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`12
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`Case 6:21-cv-00685 Document 1 Filed 06/29/21 Page 13 of 17
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`35. One or more components of the Uber Driver System performs “causing a
`
`display of the sorted listing to enable a selection from the sorted listing.” See Figs. 3 and
`
`5.
`
`36. One or more components of the Uber Driver System performs “selecting,
`
`based on the selection from the sorted listing and at least the first data and the second
`
`data, a preferred transportation provider from among the plurality of transportation
`
`providers to provide transportation for the customer.” See Fig. 6.
`
`37. Defendant, pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 271(a), has directly infringed and
`
`continues to directly infringe, literally and/or under the doctrine of equivalents, one or
`
`more claims of the ‘077 patent, including at least claim 1 by using and making, in this
`
`judicial district and/or elsewhere in the United States, the Uber Driver System. For
`
`example, Uber controls the Uber Driver System as a whole by running, operating,
`
`and/or supporting its Uber Services or otherwise making its Uber Services available to
`
`drivers through the Uber Driver App and customers through the Uber Rider App, and
`
`obtains benefits from such use at least by collecting Uber transportation payments. Uber
`
`makes the Uber Driver System by hosting and/or launching its Uber Services or
`
`otherwise making its Uber Services available to existing Uber drivers through the Uber
`
`Driver App and customers through the Uber Rider app, which are configured to
`
`transmit information related to Uber’s on-demand transportation services between the
`
`Uber Services and the Uber Driver App and/or Uber Rider App.
`
`
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`13
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`

`

`Case 6:21-cv-00685 Document 1 Filed 06/29/21 Page 14 of 17
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`38.
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`Bluestone has been damaged by at least the direct infringement by Uber
`
`and is suffering and will continue to suffer irreparable harm and damages as a result of
`
`this infringement.
`
`Count II – Infringement of United States Patent No. 10,502,583
`
`39.
`
`Bluestone repeats, realleges, and incorporates by reference, as if fully set
`
`forth here, the allegations of the preceding paragraphs, as set forth above.
`
`40. Uber infringes one or more claims of the ’583 patent, including at least
`
`claim 1, through the Uber Driver System.
`
`41. One or more components of the Uber Driver System performs “receiving,
`
`at a server, first data comprising a plurality of location updates from a plurality of
`
`transportation provider mobile devices, each of the plurality of transportation provider
`
`mobile devices corresponding to a respective one of a plurality of transportation
`
`providers and each of the plurality of location updates representing a location of a
`
`respective one of the plurality of transportation providers at a particular time.” See Fig.
`
`3.
`
`42. One or more components of the Uber Driver System performs “causing a
`
`display of a plurality of indicators on a graphical representation of a map, each of the
`
`plurality of indicators corresponding to a current position of a respective one of the
`
`plurality of transportation providers based on a respective one of the plurality of
`
`location updates.” See Fig. 4.
`
`43. One or more components of the Uber Driver System performs “receiving,
`
`at the server from a customer mobile device, second data comprising a pickup location
`
`
`
`14
`
`

`

`Case 6:21-cv-00685 Document 1 Filed 06/29/21 Page 15 of 17
`
`
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`for a customer associated with the customer mobile device.” See Fig. 5.
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`
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`44. One or more components of the Uber Driver System performs
`
`“determining, for each of the plurality of transportations providers and using at least
`
`the first data and the pickup location, a distance between the transportation provider
`
`and the pickup location and an estimated time of arrival of the transportation provider
`
`at the pickup location.” See Fig. 5.
`
`45. One or more components of the Uber Driver System performs
`
`“designating, by the server, a subset of the plurality of transportation providers using at
`
`least one of the determined distances between the transportation providers, the pickup
`
`location, the determined estimated times of arrival of the transportation providers at the
`
`pickup location, a vehicle passenger capacity.” See Figs. 5 and 6.
`
`46. One or more components of the Uber Driver System performs “selecting,
`
`from the subset of the plurality of transportation providers and based on at least the
`
`first data and the second data, a preferred transportation provider from among the
`
`plurality of transportation providers to provide transportation for the customer.” See
`
`Figs. 5 and 6.
`
`47. Defendant, pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 271(a), has directly infringed and
`
`continues to directly infringe, literally and/or under the doctrine of equivalents, one or
`
`more claims of the ’583 patent, including at least claim 1 by using and making, in this
`
`judicial district and/or elsewhere in the United States, the Uber Driver System. For
`
`example, Uber controls the Uber Driver System as a whole by running, operating,
`
`and/or supporting its Uber Services or otherwise making its Uber Services available to
`
`
`
`15
`
`

`

`Case 6:21-cv-00685 Document 1 Filed 06/29/21 Page 16 of 17
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`
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`drivers through the Uber Driver App and customers through the Uber Rider App, and
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`
`
`obtains benefits from such use at least by collecting Uber transportation payments. Uber
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`makes the Uber Driver System by hosting and/or launching its Uber Services or
`
`otherwise making its Uber Services available to existing Uber drivers through the Uber
`
`Driver App and customers through the Uber Rider App, which are configured to
`
`transmit information related to Uber’s on-demand transportation services between the
`
`Uber Services and the Uber Driver App and/or Uber Rider App.
`
`48.
`
`Bluestone has been damaged by at least the direct infringement by Uber
`
`and is suffering and will continue to suffer irreparable harm and damages as a result of
`
`this infringement.
`
`JURY DEMANDED
`
`49.
`
`Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 38(b), Bluestone hereby
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`requests a trial by jury on all issues so triable.
`
`PRAYER FOR RELIEF
`
`Bluestone respectfully requests this Court to enter judgment in Bluestone’s favor
`
`and against Uber as follows:
`
`a.
`
`b.
`
`c.
`
`finding that Uber has infringed one or more claims of the ’077 patent;
`
`finding that Uber has infringed one or more claims of the ’583 patent;
`
`awarding Bluestone damages under 35 U.S.C. § 284, or otherwise
`
`permitted by law, including supplemental damages for any continued post-verdict
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`infringement;
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`
`
`16
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`Case 6:21-cv-00685 Document 1 Filed 06/29/21 Page 17 of 17
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`d.
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`awarding Bluestone pre-judgment and post-judgment interest on the
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`damages award and costs;
`
`e.
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`awarding cost of this action (including all disbursements) and attorney
`
`fees pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 285, or as otherwise permitted by the law; and
`
`f.
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`awarding such other costs and further relief that the Court determines to
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`be just and equitable.
`
`Dated: June 29, 2021
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`
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`
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`Respectfully submitted,
`
`
`
`
`
`
`/s/Raymond W. Mort, III
`Raymond W. Mort, III
`Texas State Bar No. 00791308
`raymort@austinlaw.com
`
`THE MORT LAW FIRM, PLLC
`100 Congress Avenue, Suite 2000
`Austin, Texas 78701
`Tel/Fax: 512-865-7950
`
`Of Counsel:
`Ronald M. Daignault (pro hac vice to be filed)*
`Chandran B. Iyer (pro hac vice to be filed)
`Jason Charkow (pro hac vice to be filed)*
`rdaignault@daignaultiyer.com
`cbiyer@daignaultiyer.com
`jcharkow@daignaultiyer.com
`
`DAIGNAULT IYER LLP
`8618 Westwood Center Drive
`Suite 150
`Vienna, VA 22182
`
`Attorneys for Bluestone Ventures Inc.
`
` Not admitted in Virginia
`
` *
`
`
`
`17
`
`

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