Today a federal jury in Los Angeles resumes deliberations in a corporate espionage lawsuit filed against a company owned by Rupert Murdoch seeking $1 billion in damages.
Two previous lawsuits alleging similar claims of corporate espionage by Murdoch’s company, however, never made it to a courtroom, and a fourth is still pending. Critics say the company’s business tactics extend beyond playing hardball to predatory piracy and even illegal conduct.
Two current lawsuits and two previous ones against the Murdoch-owned company, NDS, allege a similar pattern of behavior. NDS accesses the secure computer codes and trade secrets of companies and then misappropriates the technology to pirates or hackers, causing huge monetary losses to the companies, according to the plaintiffs.
NDS, which has offices in Israel and California, is currently being sued in federal court by competitor EchoStar TV. That case goes back to the jury today.
I assume that even if the jury finds for the plaintiff, Murdoch will appeal. However, this case has the possibility of destroying News Corp. So far this case has escaped the notice of lefty blogosphere. That is a shame, because at a single stroke, the jury could strike a huge blow for media reform.
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destroying news corp? that would be worth celebrating!
i dunno, though. nds looks like it might just be one expendable fish in a huge pond [it’s listed at the bottom under ’other assets’]. always assuming murdoch doesn’t buy his way out of this one too.
NDS
NDS might very well be expendable, but even in News Corp., $1 Billion dollars passes for real money. And that doesn’t count the costs of shareholder lawsuits that are sure to follow if Murdoch loses this one. Moreover, financial misconduct is grounds to lose your broadcast license, and not just in the US, Australia too. Then News Corp. would be truly finished. That is why this is such a crucial case.