Startup entrepreneur sues Uber, claims CEO stole idea for on-demand taxis

A New York-based entrepreneur has filed a lawsuit against Uber and its founder, Travis Kalanick, and other co-defendants, alleging that they stole the idea for the phone-enabled on-demand car service.

The suit, which was filed Thursday in San Francisco Superior Court, alleges that Kevin Halpern founded a startup called Celluride back in 2003, long before Uber. Halpern sued Uber for misappropriation of trade secrets, conversion, and breach of contract, and he wants the court to assign “compensatory damages.” (Celluride now appears to be defunct.)