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Home > Metropolitan Transportation Authority v. Schoenfeld

Metropolitan Transportation Authority v. Schoenfeld [1]

Submitted by Eric P. Robinson on Wed, 09/02/2009 - 11:09

Summary

Threat Type: 

Correspondence

Date: 

08/01/2009

Status: 

Concluded

Disposition: 

Settled (total)

Location: 

Connecticut

Verdict or Settlement Amount: 

N/A

Legal Claims: 

Copyright Infringement
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs the Metronorth commuter rail services to New York City's northern suburbs, contacted Chris Schoenfeld demanding licensing payments for use of its schedules on his website, www.stationstops.com, and in his StationStops iPhone application, which both feature departure... read full description
Parties

Party Receiving Legal Threat: 

Chris Schoenfeld

Type of Party: 

Government

Type of Party: 

Individual

Location of Party: 

  • New York

Location of Party: 

  • Connecticut
Description

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs the Metronorth commuter rail services to New York City's northern suburbs, contacted Chris Schoenfeld demanding licensing payments for use of its schedules on his website, www.stationstops.com, and in his StationStops iPhone application, which both feature departure times of Metronorth trains. 

The letter claimed that the MTA has an intellectual property right in its schedules and demanded an immediate $5000 royalties payment on past sales of the iPhone app, followed by 10 percent of future sales as royalties above this amount.

Schoenfeld says he has sold 3,000 copies of the program at$2.99 each.

Schoenfeld responded with an offer to pay 10 percent future royalties, in return for the MTA proving him with scehedule updates for free. The agency then responded with what news reports alternately [2] call [3] a cease-and-desist letter and a DMCA takedown notice.

UPDATE:

9/27/09: According to the New York Times, the MTA dropped its demand for royalties and reached a non-payment agreement [4] with Schoenfeld and with the developer of a similar app for the Long Island Rail Road.

Related Links: 

  • ReadWriteWeb: NY Transportation Authority Cites Schedules as Copyrighted Material [5]
  • The Business Insider/Silicon Alley Insider: MTA Says iPhone App Maker Can't Use Train Schedules Without Permission [2]
  • AMNY (Urbanite blog): MTA looks for a cut from mobile phone applications [6]
  • Connecticut Post: MTA should stop blocking blogger [3]
Details

Web Site(s) Involved: 

www.stationstops.com

Content Type: 

  • Text

Publication Medium: 

Website

Subject Area: 

  • Access to Gov't Information
  • Copyright
  • DMCA
Court Information & Documents

Jurisdiction: 

  • Connecticut

Source of Law: 

  • United States

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Source URL (modified on 08/20/2014 - 11:10pm): https://www.dmlp.org/threats/metropolitan-transportation-authority-v-schoenfeld

Links
[1] https://www.dmlp.org/threats/metropolitan-transportation-authority-v-schoenfeld
[2] http://www.businessinsider.com/mta-train-and-bus-schedules-are-copyrighted-intellectual-property-2009-8
[3] http://www.connpost.com/ci_13177720
[4] http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/28/nyregion/28mta.html
[5] http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/ny_transportation_authority_cites_schedules_as_cop.php#comments
[6] http://www.amny.com/urbanite-1.812039/mta-looks-for-a-cut-from-mobile-phone-applications-1.1392025