Small Businesses Sued Over Software Use

Small Businesses Sued Over Software Use: What do a dry cleaning service, web

design firm and gentlemen’s club have in common? All three small businesses

obtained “live” spokesperson software for their web sites from Tweople, Inc. for a

one-time fee of a few hundred dollars. All three businesses are also being sued by

Live Face on Web, LLC (LFOW), the developer and owner of the software, for direct

and indirect copyright infringement for allegedly using “an unlawful version of

LFOW’s Software”.

LFOW has also separately sued Tweople for copyright infringement, alleging that

Tweople copied LFOW’s source code without permission and offered an infringing

product to Tweople’s customers. Each of the businesses, Emerson Cleaners, Inc.,

Unlimited Office Solutions, LLC (dba Green Technology Services) and Linvas

Corporation (t/a Sunrise Gentlemen’s Club) brought motions to dismiss the claims

against them. The federal court in New Jersey, where each action is pending, granted

the motions as to the indirect infringement claims. The court denied the motions as

to the direct claims of copyright infringement, allowing these claims to proceed to

trial.

Review the court decisions on the motions at: