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`IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
`WACO DIVISION
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`BLUESTONE VENTURES INC.,
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` Plaintiff,
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` v.
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`UBER TECHNOLOGIES, INC.,
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` Defendant.
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`
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` Case No. 6:21-cv-00685
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` Jury Trial Demanded
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`COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT
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`Plaintiff Bluestone Ventures Inc. (“Bluestone”), by and through its counsel files
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`this Complaint against Uber Technologies, Inc. (“Uber”) for patent infringement of
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`United States Patent Nos. 9,921,077 (“’707 patent”) and 10,502,583 (“’583 patent”)
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`(collectively “patents-in-suit”) and alleges as follows:
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`NATURE OF THE ACTION
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`1.
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`This is an action for patent infringement arising under the patent laws of
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`the United States, 35 U.S.C. §§ 1 et seq.
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`THE PARTIES
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`2.
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`Plaintiff Bluestone is a privately held company organized under the laws
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`of the Commonwealth of Virginia with its principal place of business at 3949 Pender
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`Dr., Suite 350, Fairfax, VA 22030.
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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
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`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,
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`1999 Bryan Street, Suite 900, Dallas, Texas 75201.
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`4.
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`On information and belief, Uber has been registered to do business in the
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`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
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`U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1338(a) because this action arises under the patent laws of the United
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`States, 35 U.S.C. §§ 1 et seq.
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`6.
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`Uber is subject to this Court’s personal jurisdiction in accordance with due
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`process and/or the Texas Long Arm Statute because, in part, Uber “[r]ecruits Texas
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`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.
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`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,
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`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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`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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`3
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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
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`district in the form of its office space in downtown Austin at 201 East 3rd Street. On
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`information and belief, the Austin headquarters is the location from which Uber
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`operations across seven states are managed. See
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`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
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`continuous business presence in the State of Texas and specifically within this district,
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`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
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`United States Patent No. 9,921,077
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`13. On May 20, 2018, the United States Patent and Trademark Office
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`(“USPTO”) duly and legally issued the ’077 patent entitled “Method and System for
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`5
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`Case 6:21-cv-00685 Document 1 Filed 06/29/21 Page 6 of 17
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`Dynamic Estimation and Predictive Route Generation” to inventors Michael Sheha,
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`Angie Sheha, Stephen Petilli, and Arun Yarlagadda.
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`14.
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`The ’077 patent is presumed valid under 35 U.S.C. § 282.
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`15.
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`Bluestone owns all rights, title, and interest in the ’077 patent.
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`16.
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`Bluestone has not granted Uber a license to the ’077 patent.
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`17.
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`The ’077 patent describes inter alia a method and system for enabling
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`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.
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`In one embodiment, “a user wishing to calculate which mobile device is
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`closest to a particular single location, or single mobile device, when using real-time
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`location updates from each of the mobile devices can significantly improving the
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`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
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`explains that “calculating the estimated route in real-time, or based on the current
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`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.”
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`19.
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`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
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`vehicle-specific route preferences and map data information, such as one-way streets,
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`posted road speeds, turn restrictions, etc.”
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`6
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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
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`entitled “Method and System for Dynamic Estimation and Predictive Route
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`Generation” to inventors Michael Sheha, Angie Sheha, Stephen Petilli, and Arun
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`Yalagadda.
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`21.
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`The ’583 patent is presumed valid under 35 U.S.C. § 282.
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`22.
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`Bluestone owns all rights, title and interest in the ’583 patent.
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`23.
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`Bluestone has not granted Uber a license to the ’583 patent.
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`24.
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`The specification of the ’583 patent is the same as the ’077 patent
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`specification and solves the problems and provides the benefits recited above in
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`connection with the ’077 patent.
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`CLAIMS FOR RELIEF
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`Count I – Infringement of United States Patent No. 9,921,077
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`25.
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`Bluestone repeats, realleges, and incorporates by reference, as if fully set
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`forth here, the allegations of the preceding paragraphs, as set forth above.
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`26. Uber hosts, develops, programs, operates, supports, and/or provides
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`network services to enable on demand transportation for both riders and drivers (“Uber
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`Services”). See, e.g., https://developer.uber.com/docs/api-overview (providing an
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`overview of the Uber API); https://developer.uber.com/docs/drivers (providing an
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`overview of the Driver API).
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`27. Uber develops, programs, supports, and makes available for download
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`and installation mobile apps for Uber riders (“Uber Rider App”) and Uber drivers
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`7
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`Case 6:21-cv-00685 Document 1 Filed 06/29/21 Page 8 of 17
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`(“Uber Driver App”) (collectively, the “Uber Apps”). The Uber Apps can be installed on
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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.
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`28. As part of the Uber Services, Uber makes available a specialized vehicle
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`navigation system to its drivers through the Uber Driver App. See, e.g.,
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`https://www.uber.com/newsroom/a-new-navigation-experience-for-drivers/
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`(describing Uber’s navigation system)
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`29. Uber infringes one or more claims of the ’077 patent, including at least
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`claim 1, through one or more components of the Uber Services, the Uber Driver App
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`and/or the Uber Rider App (wherever appropriate, the Uber Services, the Uber Driver
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`App, and the Uber Rider App are referred to collectively as “the Uber Driver System”).
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`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
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`of transportation provider mobile devices corresponding to a respective one of a
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`plurality of transportation providers and each of the plurality of location updates
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`representing a location of a respective one of the plurality of transportation providers at
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`a particular time.” See Fig. 3.
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`8
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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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`Case 6:21-cv-00685 Document 1 Filed 06/29/21 Page 10 of 17
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`plurality of transportation providers based on a respective one of the plurality of
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`location updates.” See Figs. 3 and 4.
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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
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`first data and the pickup location, a distance between the transportation provider and
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`11
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`Case 6:21-cv-00685 Document 1 Filed 06/29/21 Page 12 of 17
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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.
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`34. One or more components of the Uber Driver System performs
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`“generating, by the server, a sorted listing of the plurality of transportation providers
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`using at least one of the determined distances between the transportation providers and
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`the pickup location and the determined estimated times of arrival of the transportation
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`providers at the pickup location.” See Figs. 3 and 5.
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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
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`display of the sorted listing to enable a selection from the sorted listing.” See Figs. 3 and
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`5.
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`36. One or more components of the Uber Driver System performs “selecting,
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`based on the selection from the sorted listing and at least the first data and the second
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`data, a preferred transportation provider from among the plurality of transportation
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`providers to provide transportation for the customer.” See Fig. 6.
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`37. Defendant, pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 271(a), has directly infringed and
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`continues to directly infringe, literally and/or under the doctrine of equivalents, one or
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`more claims of the ‘077 patent, including at least claim 1 by using and making, in this
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`judicial district and/or elsewhere in the United States, the Uber Driver System. For
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`example, Uber controls the Uber Driver System as a whole by running, operating,
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`and/or supporting its Uber Services or otherwise making its Uber Services available to
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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
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`otherwise making its Uber Services available to existing Uber drivers through the Uber
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`Driver App and customers through the Uber Rider app, which are configured to
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`transmit information related to Uber’s on-demand transportation services between the
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`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
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`and is suffering and will continue to suffer irreparable harm and damages as a result of
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`this infringement.
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`Count II – Infringement of United States Patent No. 10,502,583
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`39.
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`Bluestone repeats, realleges, and incorporates by reference, as if fully set
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`forth here, the allegations of the preceding paragraphs, as set forth above.
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`40. Uber infringes one or more claims of the ’583 patent, including at least
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`claim 1, through the Uber Driver System.
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`41. One or more components of the Uber Driver System performs “receiving,
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`at a server, first data comprising a plurality of location updates from a plurality of
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`transportation provider mobile devices, each of the plurality of transportation provider
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`mobile devices corresponding to a respective one of a plurality of transportation
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`providers and each of the plurality of location updates representing a location of a
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`respective one of the plurality of transportation providers at a particular time.” See Fig.
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`3.
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`42. 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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`plurality of transportation providers based on a respective one of the plurality of
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`location updates.” See Fig. 4.
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`43. 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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`14
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`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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`44. One or more components of the Uber Driver System performs
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`“determining, for each of the plurality of transportations providers and using at least
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`the first data and the pickup location, a distance between the transportation provider
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`and the pickup location and an estimated time of arrival of the transportation provider
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`at the pickup location.” See Fig. 5.
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`45. One or more components of the Uber Driver System performs
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`“designating, by the server, a subset of the plurality of transportation providers using at
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`least one of the determined distances between the transportation providers, the pickup
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`location, the determined estimated times of arrival of the transportation providers at the
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`pickup location, a vehicle passenger capacity.” See Figs. 5 and 6.
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`46. One or more components of the Uber Driver System performs “selecting,
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`from the subset of the plurality of transportation providers and based on at least the
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`first data and the second data, a preferred transportation provider from among the
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`plurality of transportation providers to provide transportation for the customer.” See
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`Figs. 5 and 6.
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`47. Defendant, pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 271(a), has directly infringed and
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`continues to directly infringe, literally and/or under the doctrine of equivalents, one or
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`more claims of the ’583 patent, including at least claim 1 by using and making, in this
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`judicial district and/or elsewhere in the United States, the Uber Driver System. For
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`example, Uber controls the Uber Driver System as a whole by running, operating,
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`and/or supporting its Uber Services or otherwise making its Uber Services available to
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`15
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`Case 6:21-cv-00685 Document 1 Filed 06/29/21 Page 16 of 17
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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
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`otherwise making its Uber Services available to existing Uber drivers through the Uber
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`Driver App and customers through the Uber Rider App, which are configured to
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`transmit information related to Uber’s on-demand transportation services between the
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`Uber Services and the Uber Driver App and/or Uber Rider App.
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`48.
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`Bluestone has been damaged by at least the direct infringement by Uber
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`and is suffering and will continue to suffer irreparable harm and damages as a result of
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`this infringement.
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`JURY DEMANDED
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`49.
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`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.
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`PRAYER FOR RELIEF
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`Bluestone respectfully requests this Court to enter judgment in Bluestone’s favor
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`and against Uber as follows:
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`a.
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`b.
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`c.
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`finding that Uber has infringed one or more claims of the ’077 patent;
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`finding that Uber has infringed one or more claims of the ’583 patent;
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`awarding Bluestone damages under 35 U.S.C. § 284, or otherwise
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`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;
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`e.
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`awarding cost of this action (including all disbursements) and attorney
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`fees pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 285, or as otherwise permitted by the law; and
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`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.
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`Dated: June 29, 2021
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`Respectfully submitted,
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`/s/Raymond W. Mort, III
`Raymond W. Mort, III
`Texas State Bar No. 00791308
`raymort@austinlaw.com
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`THE MORT LAW FIRM, PLLC
`100 Congress Avenue, Suite 2000
`Austin, Texas 78701
`Tel/Fax: 512-865-7950
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`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
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`Attorneys for Bluestone Ventures Inc.
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` Not admitted in Virginia
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` *
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`17
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