MapMyIndia alleges Ola 'copied' data for Maps, slaps legal notice

Bhavish Aggarwal, founder and CEO of Ola Image: Selvaprakash for Forbes India
 
CE Info Systems, the parent company of MapMyIndia, has alleged that Ola has ‘copied’ data to build Ola Maps by caching and saving MapMyIndia’s data, and co-mingling and reverse engineering the licensed product, which was signed in 2021. “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,” claims CE Info Systems, which has slapped a legal notice on Ola Electric. “Your assertion that you have developed API and map data/Ola Maps solely through open map is factually incorrect and not tenable,” the listed entity asserted in its legal document, which has been reviewed by Forbes India.

In June 2021, Ola Electric inked an agreement with CE Info Systems for using its data. In the legal notice, CE Info Systems asserts that co-mingling and reverse engineering were prohibited in the agreement and under the Intellectual Property laws. “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 points out.
 
When contacted, CE Info Systems declined to comment.
 
In early July, ride aggregator Ola rolled out Ola Maps. “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 0 this month by moving completely to our in-house Ola Maps,” Bhavish Aggarwal, founder and CEO of Ola, broke the news on X (formerly Twitter). Ola Electric is in the midst of its Rs 6,100-crore IPO, has set a price band of Rs 72-76 a share, and the anchor investor will start bidding on August 1.
 
A month after the rollout, Ola Maps has come under fire. “You have misused the confidential information and the trade secrets, exclusively belonging to our client…The said illegal actions and the unfair trade practices adopted by you with the sole objective of unjustly enriching yourself to the detriment of our client’s business interest are unacceptable,” points out CE Info Systems in its notice.

In a late-evening development on July 29, Ola Electric issued a press release, asserting that the company stands by the integrity of its business practices and will respond to the legal notice shortly. “Ola Electric wishes to address the recent claims made by CE Info Systems in relation to the alleged issues with Ola Maps vis-à-vis MapMyIndia and reported in news media. We would like to state unequivocally that these allegations are false, malicious, and misleading,” the spokesperson added.

(With inputs from Nasrin Sultana)