Patenting of Location Based Technology

Wired reports that Verizon is being sued for patent infringement by a company that claims to have a patent issued in 1999 for location-based searches. http://www.wired.com/politics/law/news/2007/06/location_patent
The patent is further described here: http://www.google.com/patents?id=mWcpAAAAEBAJ&dq=5,930,474

There have been a growing number of patent infringement claims related to spatial technology in the past few years. Although many in the industry believe these claims have little value, a company runs a significant financial risk if it runs afoul of a valid patent claim. As a result, companies should provide for adequate due diligence before entering into a transaction (licensing agreement, joint venture or a merger or acquisition, etc.) with another spatial technology company.