High Court rules in Ideal Postcodes case

The High Court of England and Wales has ruled in favour of Ideal Postcodes, confirming that Codeberry Limited, trading as GetAddress.io, breached Ideal Postcodes’ terms and conditions and infringed its database rights. From 2015 onwards, the defendants downloaded a substantial part of Ideal Postcodes’ address database to construct a competing product marketed as GetAddress.io. This action enabled GetAddress.io to operate in direct competition while avoiding the data-licence fees that compliant providers are required to pay.

The court also determined that the defendants' infringement fell into a category where it was “deliberate, reckless or couldn’t care less,” which entitles Ideal Postcodes to additional damages beyond what is typically awarded. This judgment serves as a significant affirmation of Ideal Postcodes’ intellectual property rights in their database, upholding the integrity of their data-licensing process. Such outcomes benefit both upstream data providers and customers by ensuring they can rely on their address data confidently.

In the context of essential business operations such as deliveries, billing, identity verification, and regulatory compliance, accurate and compliant address data is imperative. The discovery that a supplier's database contains unlawfully sourced data exposes organisations to various operational, legal, and reputational risks.

Christopher Blanchard, Founder of Ideal Postcodes said “This ruling provides essential market clarity. It underscores the critical importance of trust and transparency, and the need for a provider that understands and respects data licensing. Ideal Postcodes' approach has been validated by the High Court to protect both customers and data vendors, and our focus is on providing the secure and compliant platform our customers need to operate with total peace of mind.”

Now, Ideal Postcodes is assisting organisations affected by GetAddress.io’s actions, as well as those wishing to review their data supply chain or migrate to a compliant address data solution. Those impacted by this judgment who have concerns about their address data can contact support@ideal-postcodes.co.uk

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