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Most of Waymo's LIDAR Patent Rejected by USPTO Following Challenge
Engineer spends $6,000 invalidating Waymo's lidar patents [engadget.com]
An engineer with no connection to the self-driving industry has spent $6,000 of his own money to stop Alphabet's self-driving car business Waymo from patenting key technology. Following a challenge filed by Eric Swildens, the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) rejected [documentcloud.org] 53 out of 56 claims in Waymo's 936 patent. The reason for his action? He just "couldn't imagine the [lidar] circuit [described in the 936 patent] didn't exist prior," Ars Technica reported [arstechnica.com].
Filed in 2013 and granted in 2016, the 936 patent [google.com] was a cornerstone of Waymo's lawsuit [engadget.com] against Uber, which began in December 2016. In a nutshell, Waymo accused the ride-hailing giant of infringing its lidar design patent and using intellectual property [engadget.com] allegedly stolen by engineer Anthony Levandowski. Uber eventually agreed to redesign its lidar and gave Waymo $245 million worth of equity to settle the rest of the lawsuit. It also promised not to copy Waymo's technology in the future.
Uber got slammed for nothing!
Previously: A Spectator Who Threw A Wrench In The Waymo/Uber Lawsuit [soylentnews.org]
Waymo and Uber Abruptly Settle for $245 Million [soylentnews.org]
Related: Waymo's Case Against Uber "Shrinks" After Trade Secret Claim Thrown Out [soylentnews.org]
Waymo v. Uber Jury Trial Begins [soylentnews.org]
