According to Gigaom in 2012 a Florida-based patent troll sued both Apple and Google because they included a view of street level images next to or inserted in a map in their products. The troll had filed patents on this type of combined imagery (see image for an example) in 2003. Apple and Google joined forces to challenge the troll based on “prior art” using a new Patent Office appeals system. The system is known as inter partes review. Inter partes review is a new trial proceeding conducted at the Board to review the patentability of a claim in a patent based only on prior art consisting of patents or printed publications. It came into effect in 2013 through the America Invents Act of 2012. It allows third parties to challenge patents before administrative patent judges. Last week the appeals board of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ruled that all 27 claims contained in the troll’s patent are invalid.
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