Facebook, Inc. v. Power Ventures, Inc., 08 cv 05780 JF (N.D.C.A. filed Dec. 30, 2008).

On December 30, 2008, Facebook, Inc. filed suit against Power Ventures, Inc. in the Northern District of California, alleging direct, vicarious and contributory copyright infringement and DMCA violations; state and federal trademark infringement; unfair competition; violation of of the California Comprehensive Computer Data Access and Fraud and Abuse Act; and violation of the CAN-SPAM Act.

According to the complaint, Power.com is a website that integrated multiple social networking accounts “into a single experience.” Power.com solicited, stored, and used Facebook login passwords to access information stored on Facebook computers.   Power.com would “scrape” proprietary data from Facebook users who had given them their login, as part of their integration services, and re-display the content on their site.

In regards to the DMCA violation, Facebook alleged that, after a back and forth between counsels, Power Ventures informed them that they would remove Facebook content, but then reversed their decision.  Facebook implemented technical measures to block power.com, which the Power Ventures circumvented.

Facebook also alleged that Power Ventures used Facebook’s trademark without authorization in a manner that is likely to cause consumer confusion, and that Power Ventures induces Facebook users to provide it with email addresses of users contacts for the purpose of sending unsolicited commercial messages that claim that they come from the “Facebook Team.”

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