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Getloaded.com finds some customers use same ID and password on both a competitor's and their Web sites
Incident Date: 1999 Incident Location: ID USA On October 15, 2004 the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Seattle, Washington rendered its verdict in the case against Getloaded.com for unauthorized access to a competitor’s Web site. Getloaded.com completed with Truckstop.com (run by a company named Creative Computing) as an online source of shipping contracts for long-distance truckers. Truckers would visit the Web sites to search for opportunities to haul additional freight in their vicinity. Some customers would use both Getloaded.com and Truckstop.com to look for shipping business. In the late 1990’s company officers at Getloaded.com correctly guessed that customers might use the same user ID and password at both Web sites. Using one of their own customer’s credentials, Getloaded.com president Patrick Hull was able to illegally access the same customer’s account at Truckstop.com and retrieve competitive information. Mr. Hull along with company vice president Ken Hammond used this approach and several others to find shipping opportunities, copy client contact information, as well as steal source code to the Truckstop.com shipping application. Creative Computing sued Getloaded.com in district court for copyright infringement, Lanham Act violations, and misappropriations of trade secrets under the Idaho Trade Secrets Act. Subsequently, Creating Computing amended its complaint to add claims for damages under the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. They also sought, and were granted, a temporary restraining order against Getloaded.com accessing Truckstop.com or marketing to their clients. In the initial trial, a jury rendered guilty verdicts on the counts of violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and Idaho Trade Secrets Act. Getloaded.com appealed the decision but lost most of their arguments. Total damages and legal expenses in excess of $950,000 were awarded to Creating Computing. Story Sources Title: Creative Computing, dba Internet Truckstop.com v. Getloaded.com LLC and/or Codified Corporation Author: United States Count of Appeals for the 9th Circuit Date: 10/15/2004 Publication: No. 02-35856 D.C. No. CV-00-00476-BLW Publication Location: Seattle WA USA Publication URL: http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/9th/0235856p.pdf Do you have additional information to contribute regarding this story? If so, please email siteupdates@passwordresearch.com with the details and source.
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