Instacart has filed a lawsuit against Uber's Cornershop theft . service for intellectual property
On July 16, the US grocery delivery service said Cornershop accessed Instacart resources to steal product images from the company ’s catalog . Uber’s Cornershop covered up the theft and presented the work as its own.
Instacart said the service was systematically stealing copyrighted product images created by the company's teams.
Additionally, the company claims that Cornershop attempted to cover up the theft by changing file names to hide the real owner.
“We’ve invested tens of millions of dollars and a lot of effort to build the world’s largest and most comprehensive grocery catalog,” Instacart said in a blog post. “This process required us to develop proprietary technology and functionality to collect, photograph, and curate products from more than 30,000 stores in the markets we serve.”
Instacart says it sent warnings to Cornershop, but Uber ignored them. That's why the company decided to take legal action and file a lawsuit.
It's unfortunate that Instacart is facing a challenge that has nothing to do with healthy competition but with litigation.
“While we support competition and innovation, what Cornershop is doing is illegal,” the delivery service added. “We believe today’s actions are necessary to protect our business and retail partners from Cornershop’s ongoing thefts.”
Cornershop was acquired by Uber in 2019.
Speaking to the Financial Times, Uber said an official announcement would be made soon.
Earlier this month, Uber also acquired delivery app Postmates. The company said the online delivery service will continue to operate as a separate business. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021.
