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A European company has sued the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, alleging the MBTA has infringed its patents with its “T-Alerts” system, which broadcasts messages related to public transit service delays and its open approach to encouraging software developers to build applications based on its vehicle tracking systems.
Arrivalstar S.A., of Luxembourg, is the holder of two patents on methods for monitoring vehicles and sending out notification when one is delayed, according to a complaint the company filed Wednesday in district court in Boston.
The MBTA introduced the T-Alerts service in pilot in 2007, allowing subscribers to specify the days, times and services they typically travel and receive notifications of delays that are 15 minutes or more, via email or SMS text message. Last year, the MBTA opened its vehicle tracking data, which stream directly from GPS and other location-tracking units mounted on vehicles, to outside developers, inviting them to build web and mobile applications for T users.
Arrivalstar’s complaint alleges the MBTA infringed its patents not only through its T-Alerts tracking system, but, “by knowingly and actively inducing others to infringe and by contributing to the infringement by others.”
It’s not the first suit Arrivalstar has filed. The company, formerly based in Del Ray Beach, Fla., sued 14 companies in 2002, including several major air carriers, according to news reports at the time. Since then it has filed several more lawsuits, court records indicate.
An MBTA spokesman said in a statement the agency will review the complaint once it has been formally served. “The MBTA does not consider itself to be in violation of any patent,” the statement said.
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