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17 June 2016Patents

Google’s Project Loon targeted in patent and trade secret lawsuit

Google has been sued for patent and trade secrets infringement by US-based wireless telecommunications company Space Data.

Space Data filed its lawsuit at the US District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose Division on June 13.

The case centres on weather balloons developed by Space Data that carry radio transceivers called SkySat and SkySite that can reach 60,000 to 100,000 feet.

According to the lawsuit “a constellation of 70 balloons can provide ubiquitous wireless coverage in the continental US for voice and data services”.

Space Data has complained about Project Loon, a wireless service which is a network of balloons travelling on the edge of space designed to connect people in rural and remote areas to the internet.

The company has cited two patents covering the SkySat and SkySite technology that were issued in 2003 and 2010.

Space Data says that Google infringed its patent numbers 6,628,941 and 7,801,522, which cover airborne communications platforms and lighter-than-air safe termination methods.

The company claims that Project Loon unlawfully uses its information and trade secrets which Space Data disclosed to Google in 2007 in a mutual confidentiality and non-disclosure agreement (NDA).

In 2008, Google allegedly said that it would not engage in “further discussions” with Space Data “in the near term” because Space Data had communicated with The Wall Street Journal about Space Data’s business.

The terms of the NDA state that the agreement will remain in effect until it is terminated by either party with 30 days prior written notice. According to the suit, Google has not provided notice of termination.

Space Data claims that Google has engaged in “other business” activity based on its trade secrets and this activity has been used to “advance” the development of Project Loon.

Space Data is asking for compensatory damages, costs and attorneys’ fees.

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