A federal judge rejected government contracting monitor BidPrime LLC’s bid to prevent a competitor from accessing its website without authorization.
The Austin, Texas-based company sued SmartProcure Inc., under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. BidPrime claimed SmartProcure accessed its website under a false name and used software bots to obtain government contract bid data. BidPrime also alleged SmartProcure representatives used their own customer accounts to access the proprietary materials. Judge Robert Pitman of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas rejected those claims June 18.
The case illustrates the difficulty companies can face in obtaining court orders ...