Editor's Note: We share this article
submitted by Scott Tatro on the continuing lawsuit between REAL, llc
and Diane Sarkisian, a real estate agent from Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. Briefly, Sarkisian is being sued for patent infringement
for using software that does real estate mapping.
We appreciate Tatro's continued efforts to share the complex twists and turns in the lawsuit. However, we cannot print his article without noting his interest in the patent in question. You can read Tatro's self-written full bio at InmanWiki, but we want to point reader's attention to this section in particular:
"In early 2003 Mr. Tatro was notified of some particularly disturbing news regarding the USPTO 5032989 license he had earlier acquired. It appeared that the patent holder Real Estate Alliance Limited (REAL llc) was intending on bringing wide-spread enforcement action against many of the companies who were actively utilizing the technology without licenses. Mr. Tatro seized the opportunity to secure his licensing status through active negotiations with the patent holders. Soon, the www.FindaHome.com brand began to take shape, and Tatro looked at ways to build technology value-added solutions which would bundle-in the 5032989 licenses which most agents and brokers were lacking as an alternative to the planned $10,000 per agent license price targeted by REAL llc. The patent holders have begun their enforcement and EQUIAS has found itself in the midst of a significant torrent of controversy. Many of those issues are chronicled at www.FullyLicensed.info."
On September 21st, Judge Golden of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania denied a request for certification of a Class Action Motion filed in the patent infringement suit, REAL v. Diane Sarkisian. The plaintiff/patent holder, REAL Inc, filed the motion in support of its ongoing 2005 patent enforcement efforts for USPTO 5032989 "Real Estate Search and Location System and Method. REAL claims ownership of the invention of an interactive mapping methodology that plots properties on graphical maps, a practice that industry leaders acknowledge appears to be utilized by many of today's advanced location-based Web sites to locate available properties.
According to documents submitted to the court earlier this year, if the court had approved the class action certification, it would have likely implicated hundreds of thousands of real estate agents and brokers all across America. The reason for this wide-reaching effect was that the motion sought certification of a class definition that would have included all customers of REALTOR.com over the past 3-5 years who contracted for enhanced listing promotion.
According to the motion submitted by the patent holder plaintiff, this certification was an attempt to identify and streamline the enforcement actions against a pervasive user-base of infringers in this space. A Class Action is a legal administrative protocol that is designed to avoid redundant and repetitive filings, similar to this initial case filed against this individual Pennsylvania agent, by or against multiple parties with essentially the same legal circumstances.
In its denial of certification, the court indicated that a key element of its decision relied upon the premise that the defendant "Sarkisian's interests did not necessarily align with the proposed class at large". In its decision the court sites that "the level of personal animus that Sarkisian displays toward REAL, however, suggests that her goals for this litigation stretch beyond simply determining whether REAL's patent is valid and has been infringed". The decision goes on to further state, "To an impartial observer, this appears to be a commercial dispute that might be settled for a reasonable sum per class member; Sarkisian's countersuits suggests that she, and the legal team that represent her in both matters, would be unable to represent the class effectively in settlement negotiations."
Although the court found that certification of this Class Action would not create a superior method for resolving this dispute, it seemed clear that a resolution that included REAL's ability to continue enforcing its patent rights against large numbers of real estate professionals throughout the US remained very much in tact.
What once appeared to be an industry-lead and financed legal defense of a specific defendant that was clearly invested to protect the greater interests of real estate professionals around the country, may have just been removed as a legal focal point of defense by this courts decision not to certify the Class Action Motion. It appears to leave the door open for a threat of litigations being launched independently against individual agents and brokers all across the country. From an industry perspective, it is difficult to determine if this denial of a class action motion for the patent holder is good news or bad.
We appreciate Tatro's continued efforts to share the complex twists and turns in the lawsuit. However, we cannot print his article without noting his interest in the patent in question. You can read Tatro's self-written full bio at InmanWiki, but we want to point reader's attention to this section in particular:
"In early 2003 Mr. Tatro was notified of some particularly disturbing news regarding the USPTO 5032989 license he had earlier acquired. It appeared that the patent holder Real Estate Alliance Limited (REAL llc) was intending on bringing wide-spread enforcement action against many of the companies who were actively utilizing the technology without licenses. Mr. Tatro seized the opportunity to secure his licensing status through active negotiations with the patent holders. Soon, the www.FindaHome.com brand began to take shape, and Tatro looked at ways to build technology value-added solutions which would bundle-in the 5032989 licenses which most agents and brokers were lacking as an alternative to the planned $10,000 per agent license price targeted by REAL llc. The patent holders have begun their enforcement and EQUIAS has found itself in the midst of a significant torrent of controversy. Many of those issues are chronicled at www.FullyLicensed.info."
On September 21st, Judge Golden of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania denied a request for certification of a Class Action Motion filed in the patent infringement suit, REAL v. Diane Sarkisian. The plaintiff/patent holder, REAL Inc, filed the motion in support of its ongoing 2005 patent enforcement efforts for USPTO 5032989 "Real Estate Search and Location System and Method. REAL claims ownership of the invention of an interactive mapping methodology that plots properties on graphical maps, a practice that industry leaders acknowledge appears to be utilized by many of today's advanced location-based Web sites to locate available properties.
According to documents submitted to the court earlier this year, if the court had approved the class action certification, it would have likely implicated hundreds of thousands of real estate agents and brokers all across America. The reason for this wide-reaching effect was that the motion sought certification of a class definition that would have included all customers of REALTOR.com over the past 3-5 years who contracted for enhanced listing promotion.
According to the motion submitted by the patent holder plaintiff, this certification was an attempt to identify and streamline the enforcement actions against a pervasive user-base of infringers in this space. A Class Action is a legal administrative protocol that is designed to avoid redundant and repetitive filings, similar to this initial case filed against this individual Pennsylvania agent, by or against multiple parties with essentially the same legal circumstances.
In its denial of certification, the court indicated that a key element of its decision relied upon the premise that the defendant "Sarkisian's interests did not necessarily align with the proposed class at large". In its decision the court sites that "the level of personal animus that Sarkisian displays toward REAL, however, suggests that her goals for this litigation stretch beyond simply determining whether REAL's patent is valid and has been infringed". The decision goes on to further state, "To an impartial observer, this appears to be a commercial dispute that might be settled for a reasonable sum per class member; Sarkisian's countersuits suggests that she, and the legal team that represent her in both matters, would be unable to represent the class effectively in settlement negotiations."
Although the court found that certification of this Class Action would not create a superior method for resolving this dispute, it seemed clear that a resolution that included REAL's ability to continue enforcing its patent rights against large numbers of real estate professionals throughout the US remained very much in tact.
What once appeared to be an industry-lead and financed legal defense of a specific defendant that was clearly invested to protect the greater interests of real estate professionals around the country, may have just been removed as a legal focal point of defense by this courts decision not to certify the Class Action Motion. It appears to leave the door open for a threat of litigations being launched independently against individual agents and brokers all across the country. From an industry perspective, it is difficult to determine if this denial of a class action motion for the patent holder is good news or bad.
From Our Homepage
Saying Farewell to an Amazing Journey
Communicating with Maps
Is There a GIS Career Ladder?
What does it mean to be geospatially smart? Series
Ways Real Estate and Property Developers Utilize Melissa GeoData for Data-Driven Decisions
Unlocking Value From Daily Satellite Imagery and Insights
Maximizing the Value of Your Address Data with Geo Addressing
How Indoor Mapping Enhances the Security of Smart Buildings
Look Ahead: AI, Location Intelligence and Efficiency
Collaboration Takes on Sea Level Rise & Dynamic Technology Environments
Brownies for Brownfields
Has Everything Been Mapped Already?
How Is Data Literacy Changing in an Artificial Intelligence Landscape
Portfolios for GIS Professionals: More Than Just Maps
How to Create a Distance Matrix in QGIS - A Step-by-Step Guide
7 Ideas for Bringing GIS into the K-12 Classroom
The Geography of Movement