QuintoAndar Luft accuses unfair competition and wins in court

The TJSP (São Paulo Court of Justice) ruled that Loft Brasil, a real estate company that buys and sells real estate, was using images from the ads of its competitor, Quinto Andar, without permission. work was he moved At the end of March, by QuintoAndar, which accused Loft of copyright infringement and of using fraudulent means to try to divert its customers, which could constitute unfair competition. The fraudulent means is the disclosure of a non-existent partnership with Casa Mineira, the largest real estate company in Minas Gerais, which belongs to the QuintoAndar Group.

In the decision, the judge decided that Loft should stop using the images and disclosing partnerships or any other connection with the competitor or with Casa Mineira. The decision is temporary and can still be appealed.

Luft has denied adopting any of these practices UOL which will “evaluate the possibility of appeal”.

The risk of damage is clear

Judge Luis Filipe Ferrari Bedende, who signed the order, agreed with Quinto Andar’s arguments.

“Reproduced emails (…) clearly indicate that the respondent [Loft] The client reported that he had a partnership with Casa Mineira, which, in theory at least, resembles the behavior that has been criminalized as an act of unfair competition. (…) The risk of harm is obvious, given the potential to divert customers through the use of fraudulent means and copyright infringement,” he said.

Judge Loft ordered Loft to stop using any image created by QuintoAndar “without prior and express permission” and to remove those already included in ads posted on the site.

The company also cannot “disclose, by any means, a partnership or other link” with competitor or QuintoAndar Group companies, such as Casa Mineira, which QuintoAndar acquired in March 2021.

In the event of non-compliance, Loft can be sued again.

The TJSP judge also declared that he did not have jurisdiction to rule on the case and, therefore, issue a final decision, given that part of the lawsuit relates to copyright. Therefore, the case was referred back to “one of the Central Civil Courts”.

Loft denies the charges

wanted by UOLQuintoAndar said it would not comment on the case.

Loft has stated that it has no policy to use images from gates and other properties without permission. In addition, the company denied responsibility “for the actions of advertisers in using the platform, whether they are brokers or real estate owners.”

“Loft rejects any accusation of improper mention of partnerships with third parties. In particular, Luft has not used the name institutionally or mentioned any partnership relationship with the real estate company mentioned in the lawsuit brought by Quinto Andar,” he added in the report’s note.

The company also said it had not been notified of the decision and that it would assess the possibility of an appeal.