Patent troll backs down, agrees to stop suing public transit agencies
ArrivalStar is one of the most active patent trolls, having filed hundreds of lawsuits in recent years. Most of its suits were filed against medium- and large-sized companies, but this particular troll stood out from the rest because it also chose to sue public transit agencies. The company got an $80,000 settlement from Seattle (King County) and won similar payments from Chicago's Metra system, Boston, and other locales.
The threats kept adding up, and eventually the transit agencies struck back. Two months ago, the American Public Transit Association (APTA), working together with the Public Patent Foundation, filed a lawsuit seeking to invalidate ArrivalStar's patents. It promised to be the first real test of ArrivalStar's patented technology. Now APTA and ArrivalStar have settled their case. It's a win for APTA, since ArrivalStar agreed to stop targeting its members or any vendors that serve its members.
