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Google Earth: The Billion Dollar Theft
How two German programmers lost their groundbreaking idea to a tech giant
In the early 90s, two German programmers, Carsten Schlüter and Juri Müller, created a groundbreaking software program called Terravision. It allowed users to view satellite imagery of the Earth in a 3D environment, and it was way ahead of its time.
Schlüter and Müller had a hard time making money from Terravision, but their work caught the eye of Google execs. In 2004, Google acquired Keyhole, Inc., a company that had developed a similar software program called Earth Viewer. Google Earth was released in 2005 and quickly became one of the most popular software programs in the world.
Schlüter and Müller were pissed that Google stole their idea for Terravision. So, in 2014, they sued Google for patent infringement. The legal battle dragged on for years, but in 2017, a German court ruled in favor of Schlüter and Müller. Google was ordered to pay them €140 million in damages.
The Schlüter and Müller vs. Google case is a real bummer for innovators. It shows how easily big tech companies can take advantage of smaller innovators and steal their ideas. It also highlights the importance of intellectual property protection for innovators.
