- Judge rules against Eko bid to halt Quibi’s Turnstyle function
- Injunction was initial battle in rival lawsuits between the two firms
- Eko accuses Quibi of stealing its IP, something the SVOD denies
A US judge has denied an injunction that would have forced streaming platform Quibi to ditch its signature “Turnstyle” screen feature.
Video company Eko launched legal action against Quibi - the premium pay-TV venture set up by former DreamWorks founder Jeffrey Katzenberg and HP Enterprise chief executive Meg Whitman – in March.
Eko accused Quibi of stealing the company’s intellectual property, including the Turnstyle feature, which allows viewers to switch between landscape and portrait viewing on mobile.
In an initial ruling, Judge Christina Snyder of the US District Court for the Central District of California Western Division ruled in favour of Quibi.
Snyder said Eko had failed to show that the Turnstyle feature will cause harm to Eko if it is not disabled on the Quibi app immediately. The main lawsuit will continue, but the ruling means Quibi users can continue to use the Turnstyle feature.
“We are extremely pleased the Court ruled today that Eko has not presented a credible case for a preliminary injunction,” a Quibi spokesperson said in a statement.
“Eko has no case against Quibi — this is a frivolous lawsuit brought by a company and CEO looking for a payday. We will continue to aggressively defend ourselves.”
Quibi launched an initial lawsuit against Israeli firm Eko earlier this year, but the latter launched a countersuit within a week aiming to delay the company’s launch, citing alleged “theft of Eko’s technology by Quibi”.
- Read more: Quibi debuts “Turnstyle” tech at CES
“This is a case to stop the theft of Eko’s technology by Quibi, alleging a civil action for patent infringement under the patent laws of the United States, and misappropriation of trade secrets under the Defend Trade,” said Eko’s Goodwin Procter lawyers in a 22-page complaint filed in US District Court.
Quibi – which has received substantial backing – launched in April.
Read more: Start-ups Quibi and Eko launch duelling legal suits over “Turnstyle” tech
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