The Billion Dollar Code is a 2021 German television miniseries starring Björn Freiberg, Seumas F. Sargent and Leonard Scheicher.[1][2] Based on true events, the series was developed for Netflix, where it was first aired in October 2021 along with an additional feature story episode.
The plot follows two interconnected timelines. In Berlin of the 1990s, a group of young hackers and art students had founded the ART+COM [de] collaboration to play at the cutting edge of computer programming and digital art. They had developed a planet browser in 1991 which was used by Joachim Sauter to get funding from Deutsche Telekom in 1993 to start the successful development of TerraVision.[3] In the series, the ART+COM beginnings were dropped, while several of the real persons and stakeholders were fused to a smaller cast, with the fictional Carsten Schlüter as the main artist and Juri Müller as the main programmer.
The other storyline revolves around the 2014 patent infringement dispute against Google, alleging that TerraVision was used to develop Google Earth.[4] The fictional character Brian Anderson is based on Brian McClendon and Michael T Jones who did found Keyhole Inc to develop a planet browser.[5] That company was bought by Google in 2004. The movie dramatized facets of the real lawsuit that lasted until 2017, with the script reproducing only parts of the actual court statements to avoid coming into conflict with Google[4] and having key parts of the proceedings fictionalized or omitted.
Trivia
The names of the main characters were changed for dramaturgic reasons and multiple involved people were merged into two, among them Joachim Sauter, Pavel Mayer, Axel Schmidt and Gerd Grüneis.[6]
The featurette shows the actual persons involved in the TerraVision project, except for Professor Joachim Sauter who died in July 2021.
One of the co-founders of Keyhole has published a first-hand account claiming to debunk the origins, timelines and interpretations depicted in the fictionalized miniseries.[7]
Discrepancies
The miniseries dramatizes the lawsuit, the proceedings of which lasted until 2017. Art+Com lost at trial[8] and on appeal.[9] The filmmakers used portions of the trial transcript to avoid coming into conflict with Google,[4] but key aspects of the trial were entirely fictionalized or omitted.[8] The actual decision of the court was in fact based on other findings.
In the Netflix series, the character Brian Anderson is asked his opinion under oath about the Terravision software and says, “To be honest, it was fantastic then and fantastic now.” When Michael T. Jones testified, he did say “It was fantastic then and it is fantastic now”, but he was talking about the ball interface, a 3D mouse. He went on to say: “And I liked the ball a lot, actually. But as far as the actual computer part, I was not particularly impressed with that part.”[10]
In the Netflix series, the character Brian Anderson is portrayed as having lied under oath in response to the question “Did you tell Mr. Müller that Google Earth never would have been possible without Terravision?” In reality, Michael T. Jones was never asked this question.[8] Michael T. Jones died in January 2021.[11]
The Netflix series depicts the invalidation of Art+Com's patent at trial, but does not portray the testimony of Stephen Lau, a former employee of the federally-funded, not-for-profit Stanford Research Institute ("SRI"), whose testimony is principally responsible for the patent's invalidation. He testified that he developed an earth visualization application for SRI called TerraVision, and that he shared and discussed SRI TerraVision's code with Art+Com. Both SRI and Art+Com systems used a multi-resolution pyramid of imagery to let users zoom from high to low altitudes, and both were called Terravision. Art+Com agreed to rename their product because SRI's came first. Because Art+Com did not include reference to SRI's TerraVision as "prior art" in its patent application, Art+Com's patent was declared invalid.[12] Stephen Lau died from COVID-19 in March 2020.[13]
^"Stream It Or Skip It: 'The Billion Dollar Code' On Netflix, About The German Developers Who Sued Over The Google Earth Algorithm". Decider. 7 October 2021. Retrieved 2021-10-07.
^"The Billion Dollar Code – Season 1 Episode 1 Recap & Review". The Review Geek. 7 October 2021. Retrieved 2021-10-07.
^ abc"'The Billion Dollar Code': The battle over Google Earth". Deutsche Welle.
^"First amended complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware - ART+COM Innovationpool GmbH. vs GOOGLE INC" (PDF). 2014-03-14. Michael Jones [..] and Brian McClendon [..] were employed at SGI during the period that ART+ COM was developing Terravision. [..] Mr. McClendon was employed by Keyhole and Mr. Jones served on its Board of Directors
^Corp, Eddie (2021-10-12). . Archived from the original on 2021-10-30. Retrieved 2021-10-30.
^Bar-Zeev, Avi (2021-10-14). "Was Google Earth Stolen?". Medium. Retrieved 2021-10-17.
^ abc"Docket for ART+COM Innovationpool GmbH v. Google LLC, 1:14-cv-00217 - CourtListener.com". CourtListener. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
^FindLaw's United States Federal Circuit case and opinions (October 20, 2017). "ART COM INNOVATIONPOOL GMBH v. GOOGLE LLC". Findlaw. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
ART+COM Innovationpool GmbH v. Google LLC (1:14-cv-00217) Trial Transcripts May 2016, days 1-6
ART COM INNOVATIONPOOL GMBH v. GOOGLE LLC Appeals Court Verdict
August 18, 2023
billion, dollar, code, 2021, german, television, miniseries, starring, björn, freiberg, seumas, sargent, leonard, scheicher, based, true, events, series, developed, netflix, where, first, aired, october, 2021, along, with, additional, feature, story, episode, . The Billion Dollar Code is a 2021 German television miniseries starring Bjorn Freiberg Seumas F Sargent and Leonard Scheicher 1 2 Based on true events the series was developed for Netflix where it was first aired in October 2021 along with an additional feature story episode The Billion Dollar CodeGenreCrime Drama ThrillerDirected byRobert ThalheimStarringBjorn Freiberg Seumas F Sargent Leonard ScheicherCountry of originGermanyOriginal languageGermanNo of episodes4ProductionRunning time58 77 minutesProduction companiesKundschafter Filmproduktion Sunny Side Up FilmsReleaseOriginal networkNetflixOriginal releaseOctober 7 2021 2021 10 07 Contents 1 Plot 2 Trivia 3 Discrepancies 4 Cast 5 Episodes 6 References 7 External linksPlot EditThe plot follows two interconnected timelines In Berlin of the 1990s a group of young hackers and art students had founded the ART COM de collaboration to play at the cutting edge of computer programming and digital art They had developed a planet browser in 1991 which was used by Joachim Sauter to get funding from Deutsche Telekom in 1993 to start the successful development of TerraVision 3 In the series the ART COM beginnings were dropped while several of the real persons and stakeholders were fused to a smaller cast with the fictional Carsten Schluter as the main artist and Juri Muller as the main programmer The other storyline revolves around the 2014 patent infringement dispute against Google alleging that TerraVision was used to develop Google Earth 4 The fictional character Brian Anderson is based on Brian McClendon and Michael T Jones who did found Keyhole Inc to develop a planet browser 5 That company was bought by Google in 2004 The movie dramatized facets of the real lawsuit that lasted until 2017 with the script reproducing only parts of the actual court statements to avoid coming into conflict with Google 4 and having key parts of the proceedings fictionalized or omitted Trivia EditThe names of the main characters were changed for dramaturgic reasons and multiple involved people were merged into two among them Joachim Sauter Pavel Mayer Axel Schmidt and Gerd Gruneis 6 The featurette shows the actual persons involved in the TerraVision project except for Professor Joachim Sauter who died in July 2021 One of the co founders of Keyhole has published a first hand account claiming to debunk the origins timelines and interpretations depicted in the fictionalized miniseries 7 Discrepancies EditThe miniseries dramatizes the lawsuit the proceedings of which lasted until 2017 Art Com lost at trial 8 and on appeal 9 The filmmakers used portions of the trial transcript to avoid coming into conflict with Google 4 but key aspects of the trial were entirely fictionalized or omitted 8 The actual decision of the court was in fact based on other findings In the Netflix series the character Brian Anderson is asked his opinion under oath about the Terravision software and says To be honest it was fantastic then and fantastic now When Michael T Jones testified he did say It was fantastic then and it is fantastic now but he was talking about the ball interface a 3D mouse He went on to say And I liked the ball a lot actually But as far as the actual computer part I was not particularly impressed with that part 10 In the Netflix series the character Brian Anderson is portrayed as having lied under oath in response to the question Did you tell Mr Muller that Google Earth never would have been possible without Terravision In reality Michael T Jones was never asked this question 8 Michael T Jones died in January 2021 11 The Netflix series depicts the invalidation of Art Com s patent at trial but does not portray the testimony of Stephen Lau a former employee of the federally funded not for profit Stanford Research Institute SRI whose testimony is principally responsible for the patent s invalidation He testified that he developed an earth visualization application for SRI called TerraVision and that he shared and discussed SRI TerraVision s code with Art Com Both SRI and Art Com systems used a multi resolution pyramid of imagery to let users zoom from high to low altitudes and both were called Terravision Art Com agreed to rename their product because SRI s came first Because Art Com did not include reference to SRI s TerraVision as prior art in its patent application Art Com s patent was declared invalid 12 Stephen Lau died from COVID 19 in March 2020 13 Cast EditBjorn Freiberg as Interpreter Seumas F Sargent as Eric Spears Leonard Scheicher as Carsten Schluter younger Lukas Loughran as Brian Anderson Marius Ahrendt as Juri Muller younger Dan Cade as Matt Boyd Arun Adhikari as Indian Businessman Thomas Douglas as Ralph Michelle Glick as Janet Martinez Yuki Iwamoto as Buchou Misel Maticevic as Juri Muller older Clayton Nemrow as Warren Stuart Harry Szovik as Barman Christoph Tomanek as Manfred Kurt Mark Waschke as Carsten Schluter older Lavinia Wilson as Lea Hauswirth Scott Alexander Young as PartnerEpisodes EditNo TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date1 Episode 1 Robert ThalheimOliver ZiegenbalgOctober 7 2021 2021 10 07 2 Episode 2 Robert ThalheimOliver ZiegenbalgOctober 7 2021 2021 10 07 3 Episode 3 Robert ThalheimOliver ZiegenbalgOctober 7 2021 2021 10 07 4 Episode 4 Robert ThalheimOliver ZiegenbalgOctober 7 2021 2021 10 07 References Edit Stream It Or Skip It The Billion Dollar Code On Netflix About The German Developers Who Sued Over The Google Earth Algorithm Decider 7 October 2021 Retrieved 2021 10 07 The Billion Dollar Code Season 1 Episode 1 Recap amp Review The Review Geek 7 October 2021 Retrieved 2021 10 07 Sauter Joachim TerraVision 1994 Retrieved 2021 10 14 a b c The Billion Dollar Code The battle over Google Earth Deutsche Welle First amended complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware ART COM Innovationpool GmbH vs GOOGLE INC PDF 2014 03 14 Michael Jones and Brian McClendon were employed at SGI during the period that ART COM was developing Terravision Mr McClendon was employed by Keyhole and Mr Jones served on its Board of Directors Corp Eddie 2021 10 12 TerraVision the story of the pioneering project that rebelled against Google Archived from the original on 2021 10 30 Retrieved 2021 10 30 Bar Zeev Avi 2021 10 14 Was Google Earth Stolen Medium Retrieved 2021 10 17 a b c Docket for ART COM Innovationpool GmbH v Google LLC 1 14 cv 00217 CourtListener com CourtListener Retrieved 2021 10 24 FindLaw s United States Federal Circuit case and opinions October 20 2017 ART COM INNOVATIONPOOL GMBH v GOOGLE LLC Findlaw Retrieved 2021 10 24 Case 1 14 cv 00217 TBD Document 421 Filed 05 31 16 Page 218 of 434 PageID 14157 PDF storage courtlistener com a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Michael Jones Changed Our Daily Lives the Atlantic The Atlantic 26 January 2021 FindLaw s United States Federal Circuit case and opinions Findlaw Retrieved 2021 10 24 Stephen Wong Lau Obituary Pelham AL Dignity Memorial Retrieved 2021 11 05 External links EditThe Billion Dollar Code at IMDb The Billion Dollar Code at Rotten Tomatoes The Billion Dollar Code on Netflix ART COM Innovationpool GmbH v Google LLC 1 14 cv 00217 Trial Transcripts May 2016 days 1 6 ART COM INNOVATIONPOOL GMBH v GOOGLE LLC Appeals Court Verdict Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Billion Dollar Code amp oldid 1170782007, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
