Apple and Google Get Sued Over Street View

Apple and Google are being sued over the Google Maps 'Street View' feature on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, reports PaidContent.

PanoMap Technologies says the feature violates US Patent No 6,563,529 which they now own. The company wants Apple and Google to pay triple damages because they allegedly knew about the patent and ignored it. They claim evidence that Apple visited a website displaying the patent in 2007 and note that Google cited the patent in a patent application of its own.

The patent details a method for indicating the camera position, direction, and field of view in a map. Here's the abstract:


A method and system for indicating the camera position, direction, and field of view in a map or panoramic image comprises a map image window which displays a map or panoramic image of the site to be studied (house, apartment, city, etc.). A detailed view window displays a portion of the map image, taken from a point in the site. A highlighted sector in the map image represents the viewing position, direction, and field of view that the detailed view window displays. When the user changes the field of view in the detailed view window, the highlighted sector in the map image changes in synchronism. The resulting interactive windows allow a person to easily and quickly view and understand the field of view, position, and direction of the image being displayed in the detail view window.

PaidContent notes the patent was first issued to computer scientist Jerry Jongerius in 2003 but then transferred to a shell company called Empire IP last year and transferred again to "PanoMap Technologies LLC" in early February.