'Empty vessels make more noise; We sent them a strong response': Bhavish on MapMyIndia's notice to Ola

Bengaluru-based EV giant Ola Electric CEO Bhavish Aggarwal, during the press briefing on the sidelines of the company's event Sankalp, said that the company has sent a strong response to MapMyIndia. 

Aggarwal dismissed MapMyIndia’s claims as “opportunistic” and noted that the move was strategically timed around Ola Electric’s IPO.

"Empty vessels make more noise. In the run-up to our IPO, they made a lot of sound. They were totally opportunistic about it. We sent them a strong response; we wanted to deal with them after the IPO. In that timeline, we have sent them a response; they haven’t responded to that,” Aggarwal said.

“They attacked Ola Electric, which is not even in the mapping business. There is absolute opportunistic randomness in what they have done. We will get back to them in the right forum at the right time,” he added.

Last month, MapMyIndia's parent company CE Info Systems sent a legal notice to Ola Electric, accusing it of copying their data to build Ola Maps.

The company alleged that the EV maker breached their licensing agreement, which was signed in 2022, when Ola Electric partnered with MapMyIndia to provide navigation services for the S1 Pro electric scooter.

The agreement reportedly prohibited Ola from combining the licensed product with any other competing product, engaging in reverse engineering, or attempting to extract or copy the source code from any API of the licensed product or related software.

MapMyIndia claimed that Ola cached and saved the data, and reverse engineered a licenced 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,” according to a legal notice sent by CE Info Systems.

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

In response, Ola Electric had dismissed the claims made by MapMyIndia's parent company.

“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,” a company spokesperson said in a statement.