Following up on the recent lawsuits, unfortunately Virtual Map streetdirectory.com had been denied leave to appeal, so as stated in this press release.
Singapore, 21 April 2008 – The High Court has declined to grant Virtual Map (VM) leave to appeal a ruling in its ongoing copyright infringement case with the Singapore Land Authority (SLA). Justice Tan Lee Meng found insufficient grounds to grant the leave in a private hearing this morning.
VM now has seven days to take its case to the Court of Appeal where it will again seek leave to appeal.
“This is a slight setback for us, but we’re definitely going to continue and take the case to the Court of Appeal. There’s a strong belief in the VM camp that we’ve always strived to conduct our business ethically and fairly, and this is a cause we feel is worth fighting for,” said VM Managing Director Firdhaus Akber.
VM also intends to apply for a Stay of Execution which will allow it to continue providing the disputed maps on streetdirectory.com until the case is fully resolved.
“Right now, one of our biggest concerns is getting our maps back online for streetdirectory.com’s users and clients. While all our secondary features are available, the maps are crucial to many businesses and commuters. We will start bringing them back once we have obtained a stay of execution,” he said.
SLA claims VM had infringed its copyright by continuing to provide maps the latter had developed using SLA’s raw data, even after VM’s license to the data was terminated in 2004.
Since streetdirectory.com returned without maps on 14 April 2008, VM has received “a massive number of calls and emails” from the public inquiring when the website will resume full functionality.
It was shut down for two weeks in order to upgrade software and data applications, as well as to remove the disputed maps.
Virtual Map, also known as VM, is a technology firm that specializes in developing location-based software and solutions. Established in 1999 the company has developed specialized skills in the area of geomatics, wireless communication, GPS tracking, vehicle navigation and mobile applications.
VM is also a content owner and aggregator specializing in the collation, processing and dissemination of high quality raster imagery and location-based datasets.
A significant part of the company’s operations involved collating and processing geographic, location-based information for Singapore and in the Asia Pacific Region. These datasets are then integrated into our various IT platforms depending on client requirements.
Currently VM is able to provide turnkey location-based solutions for Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia and Taiwan. We have offices in Singapore (HQ) and Jakarta.
Our latest technology and datasets are showcased at www.streetdirectory.com, Asia’s Leading Travel and Mapping portal.
