ArrivalStar S.A., a company based in Luxembourg, will no longer bring frivolous patent infringement claims against APTA public and private sector members because the company and APTA have settled a lawsuit brought by APTA on behalf of its members.

“I am pleased to announce that the lawsuit brought by APTA against ArrivalStar has been resolved,” said APTA President & CEO Michael Melaniphy. “ArrivalStar has agreed not to make any future patent infringement claims against any of APTA’s public transportation agency members or any vendors providing goods and services to APTA public transportation agency members.”

On June 25, APTA sued ArrivalStar in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, on behalf of its more than 1,500 members. The lawsuit stated that ArrivalStar’s patents related to arrival and status messaging systems for the transportation systems were invalid and unenforceable. In addition, APTA’s lawsuit asserted that the 11th amendment prohibits state and regional entities from being subject to such suits.

Previously, at least 11 public transit systems had been subject to frivolous lawsuits by ArrivalStar and had decided to settle rather than undertake expensive and time-consuming litigation, which would have cost millions of dollars.

“This is a good day for the public transportation industry and now public transportation agencies and businesses can move forward with innovative technology without threat of baseless litigation,” Melaniphy said. “This is an excellent example of how APTA, at every opportunity, stands up for our members and their interests.”

Over the past three years, ArrivalStar and its affiliate, Melvino Technologies Limited, an offshore firm in the British Virgin Islands, filed claims stating that they own or are the exclusive licensee of patents relating to arrival and status messaging systems for the transportation industry. ArrivalStar made these claims, yet it appears that the firm never did research or developed technology or products related to the patents.

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