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CASE STUDY ON TERRAVISION

🌍 Google Earth Interface (Example)

Terravision vs Google Earth — IPR Case Study

This repository contains a comprehensive case study of the intellectual property (IPR) dispute between ART+COM (Terravision) and Google (Google Earth).

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📖 Overview

• Case Name: ART+COM Innovationpool GmbH vs Google LLC
• Patent in Dispute: U.S. Patent RE44,550, titled “Method and Device for Pictorial Representation of Space-Related Data” :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}
• Claim: ART+COM alleged Google Earth infringed on their patented Terravision technology. :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}
• Result: Jury verdict in May 2016 found for Google (non-infringement + patent invalidity). :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}
• Appeal: The Court of Appeals (Federal Circuit) affirmed that SRI’s earlier TerraVision was prior art, invalidating ART+COM’s patent. :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}

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📁 Repository Structure

• slides/ — Presentation slides (PowerPoint / PDF) for the case study
• docs/ — Supporting legal documents, patent text, and research
• images/ — Diagrams, comparison images, timeline visualization
• src/ — (Optional) scripts to generate visuals (e.g., timeline)
• LICENSE — Licensing for usage of this repository content

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🔗 Key Resources & References

• Google Earth (Wikipedia) — background on Google Earth :contentReference[oaicite:4]{index=4}
• Terravision (Wikipedia) — details about ART+COM’s system :contentReference[oaicite:5]{index=5}
• Court Opinion (Justia) — detailed appellate judgment :contentReference[oaicite:6]{index=6}
• ART+COM v. Google – Original Complaint (PDF) — lawsuit filed in 2014 :contentReference[oaicite:7]{index=7}
• Law360 / IP Watchdog coverage — analysis of the appeal outcome :contentReference[oaicite:8]{index=8}
• News report on the lawsuit by Livemint :contentReference[oaicite:9]{index=9}

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📊 Key Themes to Explore

1. Patent Law Concepts

   • Prior art
   • Public use
   • Patent invalidation

2. Technical Innovation

   • 3D Earth visualization
   • Multi-resolution imagery (pyramids)
   • Client-server streaming architecture

3. Business & Strategy

   • Licensing negotiations (Google’s 2006 offer) :contentReference[oaicite:10]{index=10}
   • Why ART+COM’s patent strategy failed

4. IPR Lessons

   • Importance of documenting and citing prior systems
   • How public domain research can invalidate later patents
   • Challenges of protecting software-based innovations

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✅ How to Use This Repo

• 💼 For Students / Researchers: Use the slides and docs to prepare a case study or presentation.
• 🛠 For Developers / Designers: Use the timeline scripts to make visual tools that help explain the case flow.

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📌 Contribution

Contributions are welcome! Feel free to:

• Add more diagrams or visuals
• Create alternative timelines
• Summarize key arguments from the judgment
• Improve or translate the README into other languages

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