Updated below with case details and how Askme was caught It's a cursed beginning for Askme.in, Infomedia18's newly launched local search service which has been taken offline barely a fortnight after its Beta went live - rival Justdial.com won an injunction against it in the Delhi High Court over intellectual property theft. OneIndia reports that Justdial has accused Askme of stealing its database of information and contacts of products and services offered in various cities which Justdial spent 14 years in building. Justdial has plans to go global soon with a local search service in N.America. Askme.in has shut down following the Delhi Court's order and the site displays a temporary unavailability of service error. Askme.in took a long time in coming and when it finally arrived, the site was a disappointment in its lack of features and a USP. The site indicated it was being powered by Infomedia’s classifieds website YellowPages.co.in and Burrp.com, another Infomedia product. Interestingly, Askme claimed it had 3 million businesses listed while Justdial has 100,000 SME advertisers (this is from its website and may not be an updated number). Also do read: Handbook of Copyright Law Updated: Case Details, How Askme Was Caught Justdial alleged that Askme.in has copied its 'unique' database and offers the reference to a database as a 'literary work' in Section 2(o) under Section 14 of the Indian Copyright Act of 1957. The case was heard in the Delhi High Court, which pronounced its judgement on January 29, 2010. Here is…
