Google won an early round in a patent lawsuit regarding the technology that drives Google Earth, the search giant’s lawyer said on Monday. The suit, filed by Skyline Software Systems in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts, charges Google Earth with patent infringement. The case was originally filed against Keyhole, the company that developed the software that drives Google Earth. Google acquired Keyhole in October 2004. After the acquisition, Skyline added Google as a defendant. A year later, Skyline asked the judge for an injunction that would prevent Google from offering the Google Earth service. That lag time allowed Google’s lawyer to argue that Skyline couldn’t credibly say Google Earth was causing it irreparable harm if it waited so long to file the injunction. The judge ruled against the injunction, but the lawsuit is still pending. Google Earth is a free application that show maps and satellite images of practically any location in the world. On Monday, Google introduced an upgrade to the program that features a new user interface and larger index of images. Skyline sells software that offers a 3-D visualization of the Earth compiled through satellite and aerial photography images. It targets customers in the military, communications, utility and civil engineering industries.-Nancy Gohring, IDG News Service (Dublin Bureau) Related Link: Google Earth Adds Images, Other FeaturesCheck out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage. Related content BrandPost Are tech layoffs inevitable, or can your company avoid them? Despite tech industry layoffs, one ITSM company remains committed to growth and expansion of internal teams. The company’s successful endeavor is largely credited to one difference between TOPdesk and other tech organizations. By TOPdesk Mar 30, 2023 6 mins IT Leadership Analysis CIOs must evolve to stave off existential threat to their role With LOB leaders learning tech faster than CIOs gain business-savvy, IT leaders must strengthen advisory skills, build relationships, and embrace strategic transformation before losing out to business counterparts. By Yashvendra Singh Mar 30, 2023 10 mins Roles Opinion 5 ways AI will transform CRM Recent announcements by Microsoft and Salesforce on how they’re ramping up integration of AI tools into their software offerings mark the start of a revolution in the CRM marketplace. By Martin De Saulles Mar 30, 2023 4 mins Channel Sales CRM Systems Artificial Intelligence Interview From CIO to CX SVP, Cisco’s Jacqueline Guichelaar takes a road less travelled By David Binning Mar 29, 2023 7 mins Careers IT Leadership Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe