Firm threatens to sue LASTMA over traffic management solution infringement

A transport firm, You & I Global
Limited, has threatened to sue
the Lagos State Government
and its agency, Lagos State
Traffic Management Authority, over al-
leged theft and copyright infringement
of a traffic management solution.
The Managing Director- Ismail Mu-
hammed, said the recent initiative
launched by the LASTMA to prevent
traffic gridlock in the state was the same
as the one his firm presented to the traf-
fic management agency in 2017.
Muhammed accused LASTMA and
the Lagos State Government of copy-
right infringement and stealing his trade
secret tagged ‘LAGTRAFFY’ system.
He stated that in 2017, You & I sub-
mitted a proposal and was invited by the
Lagos State Safety Commission where
it made a presentation, adding that on
March 13, upon invitation, he made
another presentation to LASTMA at its
Oshodi head office with several top offi-
cials in attendance.
He however stated that one of the di-
rectors at LASTMA was equally present
during the presentation as the official in
charge of implementing the traffic man-
agement system.
Muhammed said, “He requested for
the softcopy of the LAGTRAFFY pres-
entation to ensure the correct recom-
mendation and quick implementation.
“However, after the transmission of the
softcopy, he and other LASTMA officials
became incommunicado and in fact, ac-
cess into LASTMA office was refused.
“Several visits to the Lagos Safety
Commission and Ministry of Transpor-
tation yielded no results as they referred
the company to LASTMA.
“On December 10, 2019, LASTMA
launched the ‘Traffic Management Solu-
tions’ which You & I Global insists has
canny similarities with its LAGTRAFFY
System.”
He stated that on December 23, 2019,
the company through its legal counsel
wrote a ‘cease and desist’ letter to the La-
gos State Governor, LASTMA and Min-
istry of Transportation.
In a copy of the letter, the firm said
through its lawyer, Ibrahim Mu-
hammed, that in view of the similarities
and absence of distinctiveness between
the ‘The Traffic Management Solutions
System’ and ‘LAGTRAFFY’ manage-
ment platform, LASTMA had “meted
out a deliberate and remorseless act of
infringement of copyright and trade se-
cret.”
The firm demanded that the agency
should desist from the release of the in-
fringing “Traffic Management Solutions
System” and offer a letter of apology for
the economic distress caused by the act.
The firm threatened that failure to ac-
cede to the demands on or before Thurs-
day, January 14, 2020, would result in a
lawsuit.
“I shall on or after Wednesday, 15th
January 2019 be constrained to take out
a writ of summons against you in the
appropriate court to seek remedy for my
client.
“I shall also follow that with other legal
means to ensure you do not repeat such
acts of theft of trade secret and copyright
infringement in the future,” the letter
read in part.