GeoSurf Announces Shutdown After Losing Court Case to Rival Luminati (Bright data)

GeoSurf, a popular residential proxy network, has announced plans to shut down on 20th December 2023. This decision follows a drawn-out court battle it lost against its rival, Luminati Networks, the company behind Hola.

In a lawsuit filed in 2019, Luminati alleged that BI Science Inc., the company behind GeoSurf, had infringed on two of its patents related to proxy services. Even though both firms are based in Israel, the lawsuit was filed in the Eastern District of Texas, in part due to some GeoSurf users having residential IP addresses in Texas.

This litigation, however, concludes a long-running feud between the two companies. Luminati claimed that representatives from BI Science, who had gained access to confidential information about the service in 2015, went on to create their residential proxy service. It was further alleged that three former Luminati employees joined BI Science "within months" of leaving Luminati (Read the detailed account of the case here and here).

Notification to GeoSurf’s Customers

GeoSurf has sent out a letter notifying its customers of the pending shutdown following the company's defeat in court. The letter explains the circumstances leading to the shutdown and provides instructions for customers who wish to switch to Bright Data, Luminati's new brand. Here is the full letter:

This letter from GeoSurf was provided to us by Ryan, CEO of Rampage proxies.

This move, undoubtedly, marks a significant development in the proxy industry, demonstrating that patent disputes can have far-reaching consequences. As GeoSurf wraps up operations and clients are transitioned to Bright Data, the future remains uncertain in terms of competition and pricing in this space.