Instacart has filed a lawsuit in opposition to grocery supply firm Cornershop, which was not too long ago acquired by Uber, alleging the corporate used pictures from Instacart’s product catalog when it opened within the U.S., Axios reported.
Cornershop, a Latin American supply service, was purchased by Uber final yr, and debuted within the U.S. this yr beginning in Dallas and Miami.
Instacart initially put forth a stop and desist order asking the opposite firm “to stop stealing our catalog and using our misappropriated intellectual property,” based on Axios, however when Cornershop allegedly didn’t comply, the lawsuit took place.
“The lawsuit makes clear that Cornershop is engaging in a systematic effort to illegally steal Instacart’s proprietary catalog while attempting to conceal that theft for its own commercial benefit,” a spokesperson for Instacart stated, based on Axios.
Uber’s place is that no wrongdoing has taken place.
“Instacart is facing a new challenge in the US from a Chilean upstart, and it’s unfortunate that their first move is litigation instead of competition,” a spokesperson stated, based on Axios. “Cornershop will be responding to this complaint but won’t be deterred in bringing grocery delivery to more customers in the US.”
It’s not the primary allegation in opposition to Cornershop. The corporate additionally confronted criticism when some grocery chains within the U.S. reportedly discovered it was providing grocery supply providers of their shops with out their consent.
The grocery supply enterprise has been booming through the pandemic as shoppers have switched to cell supply to keep away from public areas and the coronavirus. Along with Cornershop, Uber additionally not too long ago agreed to buy grocery supply big Postmates, in a $2.7 billion deal that may put the businesses on monitor for a competitors with others to be the largest within the supply world, PYMNTS reported.
Different opponents for that title embody Simply Eat Takeaway, which made a $7.three billion bid to purchase Grubhub. And Amazon is gearing as much as purchase Deliveroo in a deal that, whereas nonetheless being scrutinized by authorities, is prone to go.
