Tech Inventor Sues AT&T for $1.8B Over 'Stolen' Streaming Platform
[caption id="attachment_11729" align="alignleft" width="620"]
(Photo: John Disney/ ALM)[/caption] A tech entrepreneur filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against AT&T and four other defendants, seeking more than $1.8 billion over an alleged bait-and-switch scheme used to steal his idea for streaming news and programming.Inventor Erik Underwood is the CEO of My24HourNews.com, a Colorado-based company that filed the complaint in Georgia’s Northern District Court. According to the complaint, Underwood pitched his idea to AT&T and other companies in 2011 for streaming interactive news and content to mobile phones, tablets and computers. Underwood contacted AT&T and was referred to a man who identified himself as from “AT&T web development services,” and entered into marketing discussions.In reality, it said the man and individuals he introduced Underwood to were representatives of third-party vendors “posing as AT&T representatives.” They used AT&T email addresses and other identifiers with the company's consent.During his discussions with the vendors, Underwood repeatedly insisted My24 would retain all intellectual property rights to his platform and was assured that would be the case.Underwood was told AT&T would provide $102 million in funding in return for 20 percent interest in My24, “along with exclusive cross-marketing and co-branding rights.”Despite promises to promote My24, including a 2012 launch during an interview with President Barack Obama, AT&T never provided the funding or launched the platform.The complaint said AT&T appropriated My24’s trade secrets and shared that knowledge in its 2015 acquisition of DirecTV. Further, it said, AT&T’s proposed merger with Time Warner—the subject of an ongoing Department of Justice antitrust trial—also involved the disclosure of proprietary information. The suit was filed by Von DuBose and Tanya Miller of Atlanta’s DuBose Miller and Scott Griffin and Michael Hamersky of New York’s Griffin Hamersky, and names AT&T, Verio Inc., NTT America Inc., Endurance International Group Holdings Inc. and Genacom Inc. as defendants.It includes multiple claims for fraud, fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of joint venture agreement, unfair and deceptive trade practices, and violation of Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, among others.In a statement accompanying the lawsuit, DuBose blasted AT&T.“This communications giant and its so-called vendors took an Atlanta man’s ideas, and misled him with the promise AT&T would invest millions and partner with his innovations, and it was all a big lie.“This may be hi-tech equivalent of David and Goliath, but we are not going to let them get away with it,” DuBose said.Underwood said My24 “took every step possible as a high-tech startup to succeed. We handed them the complete blueprint. … They took our work, our heart, our soul, and stole my American dream.”There was no immediate reply to a request for comment from AT&T.
