Hart Energy's Counterclaim Could be the Death-Nail for all GIS Industry Vendor's Profits, According to American Energy Mapping

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas, Aug. 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The California Supreme Court ruled recently that GIS Data is public and not subject to the protections enjoyed by Software. (Sierra Club v Orange County Case No. S194708) Hart Energy was recently sued for Fraud, among other things, in a case brought by American Energy Mapping (Montgomery County Texas 410 District Court Case No. 13-05-04872).  Hart's response to that lawsuit was to file a Counterclaim alleging misappropriation of Pipeline GIS Data they claim is proprietary.  "Hart Energy seems to believe they actually own raw data for information not derived from them but, rather, gathered from outside resources," said Damien Wolff, Owner of AEM, "Hart did not shoot the survey, dig the hole, or lay the pipe."

AEM's competitors, including Hart, charge as high as $30,000 and up for the GIS data in question.  The service provided by AEM and other vendors is the gathering of information so companies can save money from having to gather it themselves.  "The idea that you can take publicly available information, group it using commonly available tools, and call it proprietary is woefully incorrect as evidenced by the California Supreme Court's decision," said Mr. Wolff, "and since Hart's mapping division is physically based in California the ruling directly applies to Hart."

"Once the industry learns, due to Hart's counterclaim, that the data is public and the California ruling applies to the Oil and Gas Industry's vendor-available data, the prices of Pipeline GIS Data will surely drop and the industry will be forever affected," said Mr. Wolff, "and perhaps that will be one of the good things that come from Hart's attempt to circumvent AEM's allegations of Fraud."

Energy GIS Data can be found on AEM's online store at www.shop.americanenergymapping.com .

American Energy Mapping is a client-focused Oil and Gas GIS Data provider which is comprised of a team of professionals that has a combined experience of over 20 years of providing information to a diverse set of industries.  AEM currently provides several layers of information within several different datasets including but not limited to Natural Gas, Liquids, Crude Oil, Petroleum Products, Pipelines, Facilities, Wells, Land Grid, and Renewable Energy GIS Data.

CONTACT: Damien Wolff, 1-832-302-6656, [email protected] 

SOURCE American Energy Mapping