A small software firm has filed a lawsuit against Google for a whopping $1 billion. Interestingly, ZDNet's description of the suit hints that the firm may very well have a case.
The suit centers on LimitNone's gMove software, which lets users transfer e-mails, contacts, and calendar data from Microsoft Outlook to Google web applications. LimitNone alleges that Google "initially helped [it] develop, promote and sell the product, assuring LimitNone that it wouldn't offer a competing product, but then reversed course by giving away its own tool, Google Email Uploader, to premier-level Google Apps customers." The Google product allegedly copies gMove's "look, feel, functionality and distribution model, including several unique and proprietary operations."
gMove costs $19, so based on a Google estimate that "there were potentially 50 million users," LimitNone worked out that Google owes it about $950 million. LimitNone also accuses Google of misappropriating trade secrets and violating fraud laws, since the Internet giant allegedly got LimitNone to share "confidential technical and sales-forecast details" when the two companies were working together.
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