Perkins Lawyers Defeat Motion to Dismiss for Facebook – Recap by BNA in the Electronic Commerce & Law Report

A recent triumph for Perkins Coie lawyers Leota Bates, Joseph Cutler, David Chiappetta and Jim McCullagh was highlighted in an article published by the Bureau of National Affairs in its Electronic Commerce & Law Report.  For the case Facebook Inc. v. Power Ventures Inc., the article summarized the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California’s allowance of Facebook’s copyright and trademark infringement claims to survive a motion to dismiss.  The court ruled that Facebook had articulated its intellectual property claims with sufficient particularity to proceed based on Power Ventures Inc.'s alleged violations of Facebook’s terms of use.  Facebook's complaint alleges that Power Ventures Inc., through its website Power.com, violated Facebook's terms of use through unauthorized solicitation of Facebook user login information, unauthorized access and use of Facebook's social networking site, and unauthorized use of Facebook's intellectual property.  The court suggested that the defendant became subject to Facebook’s terms of use, and those terms' prohibitions, upon accessing the networking site.  Perkins Coie Associate Joseph Cutler argued the motion on behalf of Facebook.  To read the court's order, click here.

Read the full Electronic Commerce & Law Report™article “Violating Facebook TOS to Access User Data Actionable as Copyright Infringement.”
Reproduced with permission from BNA's Electronic Commerce & Law Report, 14 ECLR728 (May 27, 2009). Copyright 2009 by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. (800-372-1033) http://www.bna.com