Google and Microsoft have been sued for infringing a US company's patent because they use technology which lets users navigate street-level views of towns and cities.

Transcenic asked a Delaware District court for an injunction to prevent Google and Microsoft from continuing to infringe its patent and asked the court to award it damages. Transcenic said in court documents that Google's Streetview and Google Earth and Microsoft's Streetside infringe its technology which covers systems for capturing and navigating within panoramic images.

AOL and its MapQuest mapping website were also named because it makes Mapquest's 360 View, which allows users to navigate through street-level images. Apparently Transcenic has watched the rise of all Google Earth and Streetside and all the nationwide controversy over privacy and failed to mention that it owned the technology.