American Navigation Systems, Inc. v. Apple Inc.

Filing 1

COMPLAINT against Apple Inc. with Jury Demand (Filing fee $400 receipt number TPA23405) filed by American Navigation Systems, Inc. (Attachments: # 1 Civil Cover Sheet) (DMS)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
TAMPA DIVISION
AMERICAN NAVIGATION SYSTEMS,
INC.,
Plaintiff,
v.
APPLE INC.,
Defendant.
____________________________________

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Case No. _________________

COMPLAINT AND DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
Plaintiff American Navigation Systems, Inc. (“AmNav”) brings this case against
Apple Inc. (“Apple”) for infringing a global positioning system (“GPS”) patent that
enables the most popular applications on iPhone, iPad, and other devices – Google Maps
and Apple Maps – and alleges the following:
Parties
1.

AmNav is Florida corporation with its principal place of business in

Tampa, Hillsborough County, Florida.
2.

Apple is California corporation with its principal place of business at 1

Infinite Loop, Cupertino, California 95014. Apple has registered C T Corporation
System, 1200 South Pine Island Road, Plantation, FL 33324-4413, as its agent in Florida
to receive service of process. Apple has filed annual reports with the Florida Secretary of
State since 1995.

Jurisdiction and Venue
3.

This action arises under 28 U.S.C. § 1331 (federal question), 28 U.S.C. §

1332 (diversity of citizenship), and 28 U.S.C. § 1338(a) (claims arising under patent
laws).
4.

Apple has sold millions of infringing devices in the State of Florida,

including the Middle District of Florida. AmNav’s claims arise in part out of those
Florida sales. Apple also has a big and growing presence within Florida and the Middle
District of Florida. Apple’s infringing conduct has its greatest effect on AmNav in
Florida, under whose laws AmNav exists and where AmNav has its principal place of
business. The contacts establish a more than sufficient link among Apple, Florida, and
AmNav to warrant the court’s exercise of personal jurisdiction over Apple in this case.
5.

By virtue of Apple’s sales of infringing devices within the Middle District

of Florida and AmNav’s Florida citizenship, the court has venue of this case under 28
U.S.C. §§ 1391(b)(1) and (b)(2).
Background
GPS Technology
6.

GPS technology lets users determine precise locations of objects on and

near the Earth’s surface. It works by using electronic signals to measure the distances
between multiple GPS satellites (usually at least four) and particular sites. Small
differences between the times at which the satellites beam a GPS signal and the moments
when a receiver detects the signals allow the system to pinpoint the whereabouts of the
receiver.

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7.

Google Maps and Apple Maps use global positioning to provide a visual

report of the user’s location on a map to within three to five feet of the user’s actual
location.
The Inventors and the Invention
8.

In 1995, Doug Backman teamed up with Frank DeFalco, Gene Roe, and

William Michalson on a GPS project. Backman, an entrepreneur who earned degrees
from Cornell University and Boston University, saw that portable GPS devices would
become widely popular. He also grasped the huge commercial appeal of a device that
would allow people to see and follow their changing location on a map in real time.
9.

DeFalco, Roe, and Michalson all had engineering degrees from the nearby

Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
10.

The four men together conceived a way to display GPS data in real time

on a portable mapping device. They had many meetings together and developed a
working prototype. In January 1996, they tested their prototype while driving around
Worcester, Massachusetts. It worked splendidly.
11.

On May 11, 1999, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“PTO”)

issued United States Patent No. 5,902,347 (the “‘347 Patent”) for a “Hand-Held GPS
Mapping Device.”
12.

Each of the inventors executed assignments of all rights relating to the

patent to AmNav.
Apple’s Infringement
13.

Apple has included a maps application – either Google Maps or Apple

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Maps* – on all its smartphones since it launched the iPhone in 2007. It has likewise
loaded all its tablet devices with a maps application since it introduced the iPad in April
2010. Apple has sold many millions of iPhones, iPads, iPad Minis, and other devices that
used Google Maps or Apple Maps, earning billions of dollars in profit as a result of the
immense popularity of maps applications.
14.

The ability of Apple’s smartphones, tablets, and other devices to practice

the inventions of the ‘347 Patent accounts for much of the value of those devices. A
survey in August 2013, for instance, crowned Google Maps as the most popular
smartphone application of all; the survey found that 54 percent of all global smartphone
users used Google Maps at least once during a one-month period.
Claim
15.

AmNav realleges and incorporates by reference paragraphs 1-14.

16.

Apple has infringed and continues to infringe the ‘347 Patent by making,

selling, and using devices that embody the inventions that the patent covers, including but
not limited to: Apple iPhone 3G, Apple iPhone 3GS, Apple iPhone 4, Apple iPhone 4S,
Apple iPhone 5, Apple iPhone 5C, Apple iPhone 5S, Apple iPad 1st Generation, Apple
iPad 2nd Generation, Apple iPad 3rd Generation, Apple iPad 4th Generation, Apple iPad
Air, Apple iPad Mini 1st Generation, and Apple iPad Mini 2nd Generation.
17.

Apple does not compensate AmNav for this infringement and will

continue to wrongfully benefit from AmNav’s invention until this case is heard.

*
In December 2012, Apple made Apple Maps the default maps application, but it has continued to allow
downloading and use of Google Maps on Apple devices through the Apple App Store.

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Jury Demand
18.

AmNav demands trial by jury of all issues so triable.
Conclusion

AmNav respectfully requests the court to summon Apple to appear in this action
and to award AmNav (a) an accounting for damages that equal no less than a reasonable
royalty; (b) interest and costs; and (c) all other appropriate relief.
Date: May 12, 2014

FEE & JEFFRIES, P.A.
s/ Richard E. Fee
Richard E. Fee
Florida Bar No. 813680
FEE & JEFFRIES, P.A.
1227 N. Franklin Street
Tampa, Florida 33602
[phone]
[phone] (Facsimile)
[e-mail]
Local Counsel for Plaintiff
SUSMAN GODFREY L.L.P.
Barry Barnett
901 Main Street, Suite 5100
Dallas, Texas 75202
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
[e-mail]
Motion for Admission Pro Hac Vice filed
Lead Trial Counsel for Plaintiff
SUSMAN GODFREY L.L.P.
Max Tribble
1000 Louisiana, Suite 5100
Houston, Texas 77002
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
[e-mail]
Motion for Admission Pro Hac Vice filed
Lead Trial Counsel for Plaintiff

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SUSMAN GODFREY L.L.P.
Joseph S. Grinstein
1000 Louisiana, Suite 5100
Houston, Texas 77002
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
[e-mail]
Motion for Admission Pro Hac Vice filed
SUSMAN GODFREY L.L.P.
E. Lindsay Calkins
1201 Third Avenue, Suite 3800
Seattle, Washington 98101-3000
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
[e-mail]
Motion for Admission Pro Hac Vice filed
COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFF AMERICAN
NAVIGATION SYSTEMS, INC.

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