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How a decade-old patent dispute could upend Uber's business | TechCrunch

May 30, 2025 - techcrunch.com
Carma Technology, founded by Sean O’Sullivan, has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Uber, alleging that Uber's ride-sharing services infringe on five of Carma's patents related to matching riders with vehicle capacity. These patents are part of a larger 30-patent family that Carma has developed over 18 years. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, seeks a jury trial, a permanent injunction against Uber, future royalties, and damages. Carma claims that Uber was aware of these patents as early as 2015 when the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rejected some of Uber's patent applications due to conflicts with Carma's existing patents.

The lawsuit highlights a nine-year gap between Carma's initial contact with Uber in 2016 and the filing of the lawsuit, attributed to the high cost of litigation and Carma's focus on building its business. Carma, originally named Avego, shifted its business model from ride-sharing to road-pricing services like GPS tolling and HOV verification after Uber and Lyft redefined ride-sharing as taxi-hailing. Despite the lawsuit's potential impact on Carma's profitability, O’Sullivan emphasizes the importance of protecting the rights of inventors against larger companies with deeper pockets, framing the case as a test of the patent system's ability to uphold the rule of law.

Key takeaways:

  • Carma Technology has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Uber, alleging that Uber infringed on five of its patents related to ride-sharing technology.
  • The lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, and Carma is seeking a permanent injunction, future royalties, and damages from Uber.
  • Carma's patents are part of a 30-patent family, and the company argues that Uber's ride-sharing operations infringe on these patents, which describe the modern ride-sharing experience.
  • Carma's lawsuit highlights the challenges small companies face in protecting their intellectual property against larger corporations, emphasizing the importance of the patent system in safeguarding inventors' rights.
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