RE/MAX, Ryland Homes, Realtors among Defendants Named in Nationwide Expansion of Real Estate Patent Infringement Suit
Patents cover popular online mapping of homes for sale, Potential
damages could run into the billions of dollars
NEW YORK--(Business Wire)--
In a dramatic expansion of a legal battle pitting the rights of
pioneering inventors and consumers against the real estate industry's
notorious and unauthorized use of patented methods used by millions of
consumers to locate real estate on line, the nation's largest real
estate firms, home builders, and industry umbrella groups are being
subject to suit for patent infringement in a case pending in Los
Angeles federal court.
Real Estate Alliance Ltd. ("REAL") and inventor Mark Tornetta
today announced that REAL, which owns Tornetta's patents (Nos.
4,480,576 and 5,032,989), has moved in U.S. District Court in Los
Angeles to sue:
-- The National Association of Realtors (NAR), with approximately
1.3 million real estate broker and agent members nationwide;
-- Nationwide real estate brokerage firms, including RE/MAX and
Keller Williams Realty;
-- Home builders, such as Pulte Homes and Ryland Group;
-- The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB);
-- Enterprise computer software providers to the real estate
industry, including Fidelity National Real Estate Solutions,
First American Corporation, and others;
-- MOVE, Inc., the company that operates flagship real estate
websites such as Realtor.com, MOVE.com, HomeBuilder.com,
RentNet.com, and SeniorHousingNet.com; and
-- More than 25 other defendants representing nationwide classes
of claimed infringers: real estate brokers, agents, multiple
listing services, new home builders, and rental property
owners/managers.
These companies would be sued as part of five nationwide proposed
class actions, in a full range of claims designed to secure
industry-wide compensation for intentional, massive, and ongoing
patent infringement. The claims in the suit are for direct
infringement, contributory infringement, and inducement to infringe.
The suit seeks compensatory as well as treble damages.
Tornetta's patents, "Real Estate Search and Location System and
Method," were applied for in 1986, and granted by the U.S. Government
in 1989 and 1991, when both the Internet and personal computing were
in their infancy. They cover user-friendly mapping methods "for
locating available real estate properties for sale, lease or rental
using a database of available properties at a central location and
remote stations which use a graphic interface." The patents also cover
certain online usage involving a "drilldown" feature, under which
specific areas can be displayed in greater detail.
It is believed that hundreds of billions of dollars in real estate
transactions have been and continue to be facilitated by the unlawful
infringement of Tornetta's patents; MOVE's websites, including
www.realtor.com, attract an estimated 10 million unique visitors every
month, and list more than three million homes for sale on any given
day. NAR acknowledges the importance of Internet-based searches in
today's real estate market; the organization estimates that three of
every four homebuyers search for a home online and one in four find
the home on the Internet that they ultimately purchase.
"We have tried for quite some time to use non-litigation means to
secure the just compensation we are due for the industry's flagrant
and uncompensated use of my invention," Tornetta said. "We can not
wait any longer and intend to seek the full amount the law permits
from each and every person and company that has infringed on the
patents that protect our intellectual property." Tornetta said that he
has long tried to persuade companies and Realtors to license his
invention, but has been routinely rebuffed, even as they continue to
infringe on his patent.
To assist in the industry-wide effort, REAL has turned to William
R. Huff, of the investment management firm bearing his name. Huff is
the financial advisor to one of REAL's principal members. In turn,
REAL has retained the international law firm of Proskauer Rose LLP to
head, manage, and lead the major litigation effort. Dubbed by Crain's
Business and others as a "litigation powerhouse," Proskauer, with
approximately 750 lawyers, is renowned for mounting many of the
largest and most successful cases in the intellectual property arena,
including the recent class action against YouTube and Google, filed on
behalf of owners of copyrighted content led by UK's top soccer league,
the Premier League, and US music publisher Bourne & Co.
"Proskauer feels privileged to join forces with our long-time
client Bill Huff and the legal team representing REAL," said lead
counsel Louis M. Solomon, who also co-chairs Proskauer's Litigation
Department. "We intend to prosecute vigorously all claims available to
REAL and Mr. Tornetta under U.S. patent laws and to secure for them
the maximum available damages and compensation." Solomon noted that
REAL's previous offers to settle and grant licenses to use the
Tornetta patents have been withdrawn and are no longer available.
Linden Alschuler & Kaplan, Inc.
Josh Epstein, 212-575-4545
jepstein@lakpr.com
Copyright Business Wire 2008
