[Updated: 1:07 pm] Sammamish, WA-based tech startup Infoflows has been awarded over $20 million in damages in an intellectual property dispute with Seattle-based photo library and licensing company Corbis Corporation. Infoflows, started by a group of Microsoft employees in 2004, develops software to track digital content online. The company entered into a multimillion-dollar development agreement with Corbis, whose chief shareholder is Bill Gates, in 2006, resulting in a battle between the two companies over the ownership of a particular piece of technology. Ultimately a King County Superior Court judge ruled against Corbis for two counts of fraud, trade secret misappropriation, and breach of contract. The New York Times published an in-depth piece about the trial and its outcome yesterday, however according to an announcement posted on the Infoflows website, the verdict was reached back in February.
[Updated: 1:07 pm] Corbis spokesperson Scott Baldwin provided the following statement from the company regarding the case: “Corbis is disappointed by the outcome in the trial and believes the trial court made substantial legal errors, resulting in an unjustified windfall verdict for Infoflows…Corbis will vigorously pursue its appeal and is confident that it will ultimately prevail.”
