SnipSnap app sued for copyright infringement

Remember the coupon app SnipSnap? This app allows people to take photographs of your coupons, converting the photos into scannable bar codes. Users can then share the uploaded coupon images and codes with each other. SnipSnap came under fire earlier this year for violating copyright and transferability clauses on coupons. Retailers and manufacturers alike were against this app that allows photos of coupons to be scanned at the register, as this process is unauthorized by many of the companies whose coupons appear in the app. Companies who issue a finite number of paper coupons suddenly found themselves facing the possibility of redeeming thousands more than they planned to offer.

Now, a company has filed a lawsuit against SnipSnap for copyright infringement. KidStuff, a coupon book publisher that offers coupon books (similar to Entertainment Books) for sale as school fundraisers, is suing SnipSnap. Coupons in the News has the exclusive story:

Several months after the controversial coupon app came under intense criticism in the couponing community, the app now finds itself the defendant in a lawsuit. A coupon book publisher displeased with seeing its offers reproduced in the app, alleges that SnipSnap “willfully and knowingly” helps users “illegally access, copy and redeem” its coupons, and that SnipSnap “has ignored the numerous red flags of infringing activity.”

And they’re not just going after SnipSnap itself – they want to hold SnipSnap users accountable, too.

KidStuff is an Allentown, Pennsylvania-based company that publishes coupon books which are sold by schools as fundraisers. Over the past 20 years, KidStuff says its coupon books have helped to raise more than $50 million for schools across the country, with the help of vendors who “budget the number of their coupons and base their offers upon the number of KidStuff coupon books expected to be distributed.”

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As a result, the company filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania last week, against SnipSnap and ten “John Does” – unknown users who uploaded KidStuff coupons to the app. “Consumers will find no need to legally purchase KidStuff’s coupon books so long as Defendant illegally offers the same coupons for free,” KidStuff argues in its suit.

The lawsuit came about after KidStuff’s repeated requests to remove its coupons failed to eliminate them from the app. That’s despite legal disclaimers printed on each coupon stating that “reproducing KidStuff coupons in whole or in part is unlawful. Users must present coupons in their original paper form. Coupons may not be sold or bartered.”

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SnipSnap disputes the notion that there’s anything illegal about its app. In fact, its very reason for being, is to help eliminate the need for paper coupons. We cannot police the user-generated content,” Mann offered in response, explaining that SnipSnap relies on users to report any offending coupons.

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KidStuff is seeking statutory damages of up to $150,000 per violation, plus attorney’s fees – not only from SnipSnap, but from the users known only as “John Does” who are included in the lawsuit as well.

Read the entire article at Coupons in the News.