One of Redfin’s co-founders is suing the high-tech real estate brokerage for patent infringement and intellectual property theft, alleging that the violations handicapped his current startup.
Surefield founder David Eraker claims Redfin copied technology that he developed after leaving the company that allows prospective homebuyers to take virtual 3D tours of properties in a lawsuit filed Monday. Eraker is suing Redfin and Seattle-based venture capital firm Madrona Venture Group in separate suits for alleged intellectual property theft.
Redfin and Madrona declined to comment on the litigation.
Surefield filed one of the lawsuits in federal court in the Western District of Texas, seeking damages and an injunction. That complaint concerns image-based rendering technology that makes it possible to move around a property virtually.
Eraker launched Surefield as a real estate technology startup in 2012 after leaving Redfin. The company began developing 3D Home Tour, which creates digital renderings of properties that allow users to move around in the space virtually. Surefield filed a provisional patent application during the research and development phase, which was later awarded to the startup.
Surefield’s 3D Home Tour launched in April 2014. A few months later, Redfin unveiled 3D Walkthrough, a similar image-based rendering product, with its technology partner Matterport, according to the complaint.
Surefield couldn’t get venture capital funding for its virtual tour product, which Eraker attributes to competition from Redfin. The startup ceased development of the costly 3D rendering technology and pivoted to brokering real estate deals at lower-than-typical fees. The lawsuit claims Redfin is using Surefield’s patented technology and refusing to license it.
“I’m coming from the perspective of the small startup that gets copied and those features go on to contribute to widespread commercial success,” Eraker told GeekWire in an interview. “As that small inventor, this is our shot to try to assert our patents to bring account for the type of behavior. It matters because this happens all the time.”
In a separate lawsuit filed in King County Superior Court, Eraker accuses Redfin and investor Madrona Venture Group of using Eraker’s intellectual property related to map-based search and other inventions dating back to his tenure at the company.
The lawsuit claims that Madrona’s Paul Goodrich discovered proprietary technology invented by Eraker during the due diligence process while the VC firm was considering investing in Redfin’s Series A round. Goodrich then filed a provisional patent application for that technology, according to the complaint.
“Mr. Goodrich and Madrona concealed the provisional application from Mr. Eraker, misrepresented its contents, kept it off of Redfin’s books before and after the Series A investment, and assigned the application to Redfin only after Mr. Eraker had been ousted from the company,” the complaint says.
Redfin warned of the potential for Eraker’s litigation in its IPO filing in 2017. It’s not the first time a Redfin co-founder has pursued legal action against the company. Redfin co-founder Michael Dougherty and former CTO David Selinger filed a lawsuit in 2014 alleging the company moved to cancel their shares as it prepared for an initial public offering. Redfin settled the lawsuit before going public.
Read the full text of the lawsuits below.
Eraker v. Redfin and Madrona by GeekWire on Scribd
Surefield v. Redfin by GeekWire on Scribd
