Provider of geolocation technology services GeoComply filed a motion in court to compel a third party to provide certain materials related to the infringement lawsuit against Xpoint.
OTG Holds the Key
The motion filed by GeoComply requested the court to compel Out The Gate (OTG), an online gambling company based in New Jersey, to provide all materials related to an internal presentation held by OTG’s chief operating officer Lee Terfloth in July last year, claiming that the presentation revealed that Xpoint had “identical code processes” to GeoComply.
Should GeoComply become aware of the copying of their product, they could issue a cease and desist, which would require Xpoint to potentially shut down their product.
GeoComply statement
In September last year, GeoComply filed a legal case against Xpoint in Delaware’s District Court, alleging that Xpoint’s operation is infringing on GeoComply’s patent covering a geolocation engine technology invented by GeoComply chief executive officer and co-founder Anna Sainsbury.
GeoComply sought injunctive relief from the court to protect its investment-based risk but Xpoint released a statement dismissing the patent infringement allegations as “meritless,” adamant that there would be no more comments until the matter is resolved in court.
Concerned that their code has been directly copied by their competitor, GeoComply submitted the presentation as evidence and subpoenaed OTG to provide the source code it had received from Xpoint, as well as any correspondence or work product associated with Xpoint but the New Jersey-based online gambling company refused.
Judge to Decide
In the objection filed to the subpoena, OTG outlined that GeoComply should first receive discovery from Xpoint rather than seek a “wide breadth of discovery from OTG” at such an early stage of the litigation, highlighting that what documents and information GeoComply seeks from OTG are “equally or more likely to be in Xpoint’s possession.”
Arguing that GeoComply’s request is an overstep, OTG stated that this type of information should not come from a third party but from Xpoint and its discovery. The company also claimed that the scope of the request creates an undue burden on the business.
Following the motion filed by GeoComply to compel OTG to submit all presentation-related materials and correspondence with Xpoint on January 9, OTG was given until January 23 to file its opposition to the motion, with GeoComply having to file its response until January 30, while ruling on the motion by Judge William C Bryson is expected in early February.