MapMyIndia accuses Ola Electric of data theft for maps, sends legal notice

MapMyIndia's legal notice alleges Ola's activities breach the 2021 agreement's terms, which specifically forbid co-mingling and reverse engineering as per Intellectual Property regulations

This article has been updated

CE Info Systems, the parent company of MapMyIndia, has issued a legal notice to Ola Electric, alleging that the company copied its data after Ola Electric introduced its own mapping service in India, according to a report by Forbes India.

The notice accuses Ola Electric of violating their licensing agreement. In 2022, MapMyIndia was onboarded by Ola Electric to provide navigation services for its S1 Pro electric scooter.

According to MapMyIndia, the agreement prohibited Ola Electric from integrating the licenced product with any similar competing product and from reverse engineering or attempting to extract or replicate the source code from any API or related software of the licensed product.

“You have duplicated our client’s API (application programming interface) and SDKs (software development kits) from proprietary sources belonging to our client to build OLA Maps. It is firmly stated that our client’s exclusive data has been copied/derived by you to further your illegal motive and for your unjust commercial gains,” CE Info Systems said, as quoted by Forbes India.

In its legal document, the company further said, “Your assertion that you have developed API and map data/Ola Maps solely through open map is factually incorrect and not tenable.”

 

The report said the legal notice points out that Ola’s activities breach the 2021 agreement’s terms, which specifically forbid co-mingling and reverse engineering according to Intellectual Property regulations.

“By indulging in such unscrupulous and illegal activities, you have acted in blatant defiance of the terms and conditions of the agreement and have further infringed the copyright vested exclusively in our client pertaining to the source code,” the notice further said, as mentioned by Forbes India.

All allegations are false, malicious: Ola Electric

Responding to the allegations made by MapMyIndia, Ola Electric said that the claims against the company are false, and misleading and it will soon reply to the legal notice.
 

“Ola Electric wishes to address the recent claims made by CE Info Systems Limited in relation to the alleged issues with Ola Maps vis-a-vis MapMyIndia and reported in news media. We would like to state unequivocally that these allegations are false, malicious, and misleading. Ola Electric stands by the integrity of its business practices. We will suitably respond to the notice shortly." an Ola Electric spokesperson said.

Ola Maps replaces Google

Earlier this month, Bengaluru-based Ola introduced Ola Maps as a substitute for Google Maps. Additionally, the company transitioned its operations to its own mapping service, moving away from Google Maps.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Bhavish Aggarwal, chief executive of Ola Cabs, said, “After Azure exit last month, we’ve now fully exited Google Maps. We used to spend Rs 100 crore a year but we’ve made that zero this month by moving completely to our in-house Ola maps! Check your Ola app and update if needed.”

Ola Electric IPO

Ola Electric Mobility Ltd has announced a price range of Rs 72-76 per share for its upcoming initial public offering (IPO), which will be available for subscription starting August 2. The anchor investor bidding is scheduled to commence on August 1, with the offering concluding on August 6.