Big Law
Facebook Ordered to Pay $4.7M in a Copyright Infringement Claim
Facebook has been ordered to pay an Italian developer €3.83 million or around $4.72 million in damages over the social media giant’s “Nearby” feature.
According to Reuters, the appeals court that is based in Mila upheld a 2019 ruling saying Facebook had intentionally copied the “Nearby” feature from developer Business Competence’s Faround app.
The copyright claims case started in 2012. In that year, Business Competence launched Faround which was made to help users find Facebook friends near their area. The app immediately gained attraction in Italy, according to Reuters.
However, months later, Facebook introduced its own “Nearby” feature, which also competed with other apps like Yelp and Foursquare, and the downloads of Faround decreased.
