A federal judge has ruled that the core patent infringement lawsuit levied against streaming service Quibi by tech company Eko can proceed.
Two weeks after she denied Eko’s injunction request, U.S. District Judge Christina A. Snyder dismissed three of nine claims made by New York technology company Eko.
But as first detailed by Variety, she ruled Tuesday that the case’s core complaints, which include allegations of misappropriated trade secretes and patent infringement, can move forward.
“Eko has adequately pled that Quibi had access to its trade secret information, and produced a technology that is similar,” Snyder wrote.
Added a Quibi press rep: “We are pleased that the court has found that Eko’s key claims state valid causes of action and we plan to refile pleadings pertaining to the remaining three claims, as the judge has recommended. We look forward to proceeding with the case.”
Also read: Quibi Wins Court Ruling: Court Denies Plaintiff Eko Preliminary Injunction
The suit filed by “JBF Limited 2019 - Israel” (doing biz as Eko) alleges that well-backed mobile streaming service Quibi ripped off its technology to create its core user feature, Turnstyle, which lets users toggle between landscape and portrait viewing modes.
On Tuesday, Judge Snyder dismissed Eko’s claim against Quibi founder Jeffrey Katzenberg, ruling there is no evidence to suggest a meeting he took with Eko CEO Yoni Bloch resulted in any kind of “implied contract.”
Judge Snyder also dismissed a claim against two former Snap employees, who also took meetings with Eko before moving over to work with Quibi. And she dismissed a claim alleging Quibi ripped off Eko’s logo design to create its own.
Reps for Eko didn’t immediately respond to Next TV’s inquiry for comment.
Quibi released the following statement: “We are gratified by the Court’s decision to dismiss many of Eko’s claims, particularly since the standard for doing so is extremely high. This coupled with the Court’s recent denial of Eko’s request for a preliminary injunction demonstrate what we have said all along—this is a meritless case. We will continue to aggressively defend ourselves in court.”
