Brown Rudnick’s Patent Trial Against Google Over Street View Ends in Settlement for Client

Following opening statements in a New York federal trial on Nov. 12, 2024, Brown Rudnick's client Kewazinga obtained a settlement in a multi-patent infringement battle against Google over the tech giant's Street View product.

During his opening statement, partner Ian DiBernardo, who led the Brown Rudnick team, told the 10-member jury how, in the late 1990's, Kewazinga "figured out how to harness the power of the then-new internet" and how Kewazinga shared its ideas with Google prior to Street View's launch-including one that was "as if Kewazinga looked into a crystal ball and saw Street View."

DiBernardo explained how Kewazinga's patented telepresence technology enabled remote, seamless viewing and navigation of imagery. DiBernardo highlighted to the jury that Street View, as described in company communications pulled by the Brown Rudnick team from Google's production, as a "priceless Google ambassador" and one of Google's "most used and loved products."

Jason Sobel, DiBernardo's partner for over 20 years, crafted the trial strategy with DiBernardo. Sobel said: "We anticipated Google's trial strategy and wanted to draw a stark contrast in the opening between what Google would be saying now, in court, and the documentary evidence." As DiBernardo explained to the jury, the documentary evidence demonstrated that Google knew about the patents and believed the alleging infringing technology was essential to incorporate into Street View for launch.

DiBernardo and Sobel said that they anticipated and prepared for a long drawn-out battle. Early in the case, they successfully defended four separate inter partes reviews filed by Google before the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board and secured a summary judgment ruling dismissing Google's defense of equitable estoppel in district court. In September 2023, they defeated Google's motions for summary judgment, eventually proceeding to trial on all asserted patents.

The Brown Rudnick trial team also included Harold Laidlaw, Merri Moken, Tony Boccamazzo, and Rebecca Lecaroz.