Who owns your BankID? A billion Swedish krona in damages saga to be continued…

Accumulate has now appealed the ruling of the Patent and Market Court (PMT 6997-17) of 8t June 2020, regarding trade secret misappropriation, breach of contract and copyright infringement with respect to the service BankID. 

BankID is one of the most lucrative services in Sweden, since it is the sole electronic signature accepted by banks, public authorities and private entities. It is a service developed by several banks in cooperation, including Swedbank, Handelsbanken, SEB and Danske Bank. Having a BankID is vital for citizens in Sweden and an indispensable facilitator for contacts with both the public and private sector.

A costly lawsuit, indeed!

Accumulate sued Finasiell ID-Teknik (BID), seeking damages of six billion Swedish krona (approximately 600 million euros) for alleged patent, copyright and trade secret infringement. In the case at first instance in early June 2020, the Patent and Market Court ruled that Mobilt BankID had developed an electronic signature–independently and without making use of Accumulate’s trade secrets. The Court found further that there was no patent or copyright infringement, nor was there evidence of breach of contract.

Accumulate has now appealed the ruling to the Patent and Market Court of Appeal, focusing on the issue of trade secret infringement as well as, in part, on copyright infringement. Accumulate is asking the Patent and Market Court of Appeal to overturn the ruling of the lower court and oblige BID to pay damages amounting to 4.7 million Swedish krona for breach of a confidentiality agreement between the parties. Accumulate claims damages in the amount of 723 million Swedish krona in damages for misappropriation of trade secrets over a period of five years as well as 500 million Swedish krona in punitive damages.

Should the court conclude that no trade secret infringement has occurred, Accumulate claims that BID should still be liable for damages in the amount of 50.000 Swedish krona for copyright infringement. It is not only the level of damages being sought that is striking in this case, but also the amount of legal costs. In the decision at first instance, the court ordered Accumulate to pay 13.7 million Swedish krona, 11 million of which is for attorney costs.

At the end of June, Accumulate applied for company restructuring, claiming that the legal proceeding against BID has been too costly for the company. It remains to be seen whether the Patent and Market Court of Appeal will in fact rule on the case and what the outcome will be. It is not only that over a billion krona are at issue, but also the future of a key service used by millions of people in Sweden on an everyday basis that may be at stake.