According to the complaint, he registered the Celluride website in 2003 and developed a mobile phone prototype in 2006. It was then, the complaint said, that he encountered Kalanick at an office Kalanick was renting from his friend in San Francisco.

Halpern said in the complaint that with Kalanick’s promises to keep the information confidential, he shared his concept, designs and prototype.

I’m not sure of the legal issues here, but if Halpern’s company was public at the time, didn’t Kalanick just launch a competing service, Uber, and win?