Match Group and Bumble have come to an agreement to keep all evidence in the IP lawsuit confidential, over fears from both companies that sensitive information might be accidentally disclosed.
The protective order was issued on the 17th January and legally marks all documents relating to the case as confidential, restricted, or for attorneys’ eyes only.
This news comes just a few days after Tinder founder Sean Rad was sued by IAC for allegedly stealing company files. He was accused of copying emails and other files that were believed to contain restricted information.
Match Group initially sued Bumble on patent infringement grounds in March 2018, claiming the app’s founders had stolen the swipe, mutual opt-in design from Tinder.
The two parties failed to settle the dispute in private meaning the conflict had to be taken into the courts. Last month, Western District of Texas Judge Alan Albright decided Tinder’s interface was indeed patentable, stating that the swiping motion “improve[s] existing interface technology.”
Bumble has been running a video series called ‘Morning Commute’ which interviews employees as they make their way to the office in the morning. The latest episode focuses on Elizabeth Monteleone, the app’s Legal Counsel.
She explained that being an in-house lawyer was completely different to working at a large corporate law firm and she now needs to “field all sorts of requests and legal needs”, but didn’t mention Bumble’s current legal battles.
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