LifeLock sues executive board of mobile payment company Xapo

Xapo, a Bitcoin bank and payment processor, could be up against hard times ahead as some of its employees, including much of its executive board, are currently embroiled in a lawsuit over the company's mobile Bitcoin wallet.

Back in 2013, mobile wallet developer Lemon was acquired by online security company LifeLock for $42.5 million. Among its employees were a number of current Xapo workers, including co-founder Wences Casares.

In the months leading up to the acquisition, Casares led a project group attempting to create a mobile Bitcoin wallet, though the project was terminated prior to the acquisition.

Early in 2014, Casares, still working on the project on his own time, approached LifeLock's executive board and acquired a letter acknowledging that they held no claim to Casares' Bitcoin related IP.

LifeLock, however, isn't suing Xapo itself for intellectual property infringement. Rather, they are accusing current Xapo employees for profiting from "a product developed by Lemon employees, in Lemon's facilities, on Lemon's computers, and on Lemon's dime."

Casares' attorneys responded by saying that "this is a baseless lawsuit. LifeLock has no right to any Bitcoin-related business or IP that Wences Casares or his colleagues may have worked on during their time at Lemon or after. As LifeLock's President has attested in a legally binding document, LifeLock does not have any right, claim or interest to any Bitcoin IP. LifeLock's claims lack merit and we look forward to proving their allegations false."

Patent infringement is a serious problem. If you think your intellectual property is being used without your permission, you should contact an experienced business attorney as soon as possible.

Categorised in: Intellectual Property Law

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