Retired professor drives Lyft to court for patent infringement

Rideshare app Lyft has been hit with a patent claim after a former Georgia Institute of Technology professor accused the company of infringing his transport-related invention.

Stephen Dickerson filed the complaint at the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on Monday, July 23, through his newly-formed transportation company RideApp.

In 1999, Dickerson claimed, he developed a transportation system to “provide greater convenience and service to customers”, especially those in “underserved communities” such as the outer boroughs of New York City.

Dickerson’s system integrated mobile phone technology, a GPS system and automatic billing technology. It also allowed the drivers and users to identify one another and estimate arrival times before pick-up.

In 2004, four years after Dickerson applied for a patent, the US Patent and Trademark Office registered his application, called “Communications and computing based urban transit system” (US number 6,697,730).

The claim said that Lyft was formed ten years after Dickerson applied for the patent.

“The core of its [Lyft] business model is the transportation system of professor Dickerson’s invention; without that system, Lyft literally cannot operate,” said the claim.

According to the complaint, Lyft has “egregiously” infringed the ‘730 patent without paying any compensation to Dickerson.

The claim singled out functions including Standard Lyft, Lyft Line, and Lyft Premier.

These products are “integrated into a system comprising a technology platform and smartphone applications to connect drivers and passengers”, alleged the claim.  

According to the claim, Dickerson’s patent is “absolutely core to the way in which Lyft operates its business”.

As a member of Georgia Institute of Technology’s staff, Dickerson was initially obliged to assign his patent to the Georgia Tech Research Corporation, which supports research and technological development at the institute. The research corporation licensed the patent but did not enforce it against any infringing parties.

In early 2018, the patent assignment returned to Dickerson, who then assigned the rights to his new company, RideApp.

Dickerson is seeking an injunction and damages.

A Lyft spokesperson declined to provide comment.