Google wins Google Earth patent battle

Google’s mapping technology Google Earth does not infringe the patents held by a rival company, a US court has ruled.

Skyline Software Systems had claimed that Google Earth had infringed its own patents covering similar 3D software.

But the judge in the case dismissed the lawsuit before it made a full trial scheduled for June.

The judge said Google Earth was not the same as Skyline’s system as it did not attempt to render views of Earth's terrain, which is a key feature of the Skyline system, and that Google’s 3D software was different.

Google was able to launch Google Earth after acquiring Keyhole in 2004, which developed the original 3D mapping system.

Google goes after the enterprise