Jury establishes legal precedent for the copyright protection of Infogroup’s business database
In an Omaha-based federal court, a jury awarded Infogroup, a leading provider of data and multichannel marketing solutions, $53.6 million and found that Vinod Gupta and Database101 (DB101) as well as its various divisions, AtoZdatabases, Infofree and DatabaseUSA, violated various federal laws and contractual obligations.
The verdicts conclude a legal process that began in February 2014 when Infogroup filed suit against Gupta and DB101. Gupta and DB101 were found liable on all seven counts including infringement of Infogroup’s database copyright and trademarks, unfair competition, false advertising and breach of various contracts. Two significant findings were that (i) Infogroup’s extensive processes of compiling its databases (data selection, refinement, verification, updating and user-friendly arrangement) were so sophisticated and value-enhancing, that the databases qualified for copyright protection and (ii) Gupta and DB101 had unlawfully passed Infogroup’s proprietary database off as their own.
“The jury agreed that Infogroup’s industry leading techniques of database management qualified Infogroup’s database for protection under federal copyright law,” said Greg Scaglione, who tried the case for Infogroup and leads the National Litigation Practice at Koley Jessen. “These verdicts are a testament to the extraordinary quality of Infogroup’s databases, and the company’s tenacity in protecting its databases, copyrights, trademarks and the market place from competitors’ misconduct.”
“Our team has worked tirelessly to build databases that are best in class when it comes to quality and accuracy,” said Mike Iaccarino, chairman and CEO of Infogroup. “These verdicts underscore our dedication to tenaciously protect our copyright, trademarks, customer lists and other property. We will tenaciously compete but we will always compete fairly.”
All questions regarding the outcome or status of the case should be referred to Infogroup’s counsel of record, Greg Scaglione at Koley Jessen.
About Infogroup
Infogroup is a leading provider of data and data-driven marketing solutions. Infogroup provides data, technology and services that help marketers acquire new customers and maximize the value of existing relationships. The company’s data and marketing solutions help clients of all sizes, from local SMBs to FORTUNE 100™ enterprises, increase sales and customer loyalty. Infogroup provides both digital and traditional marketing channel expertise that is enhanced by access to our proprietary data on 280 million individuals and 24 million businesses. For more information, visit www.infogroup.com.
