TechCrunch files federal lawsuit against Fusion Garage
As promised previously, TechCrunch and its CrunchPad subsidiary have filed lawsuit over the CrunchPad/JooJoo debacle.
The saga of the tablet Web browsing device that was to be released by tech blog TechCrunch, the CrunchPad, has turned into something resembling a soap opera for the Web 2.0 crowd. Things started to look dim for the CrunchPad in early November, followed by an official announcement that the device was dead later in the month.
This was followed up by an announcement from Fusion Garage, the company handling the development of the device, that it was rebranding the CrunchPad as the JooJoo, and would be releasing the product without TechCrunch’s involvement.
Now Michael Arrington, CEO of TechCrunch, has popped back up with a federal lawsuit against Fusion Garage for Fraud and Deceit, Misappropriation of Business Ideas, Breach of Fiduciary Duty, Unfair Competition and Violations of the Lanham Act. In short, if they found even a minuscule connection to a law, they’re suing for it.
Engadget has done a break down of what each aspect of the posted filing means, and it is well worth reading, even if it is still a bit confusing. The general concept is that it looks like these two companies will be locked in a legal battle for so long that the CrunchPad/JooJoo won’t even be relevant as someone else is sure to release a similar device by the time the dust settles.
It was a nice idea, just would have been nice if it had involved companies that could have played nice together.
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