2Clix sues Whirlpool founder over forum posts

Stan Beer
Wednesday, 12 September 2007 12:38

Business IT - Technology

In what could be a test for the freedom of Web 2.0 style public posting to sites in Australia, Brisbane-based accounting software provider 2Clix Australia Pty Ltd has lodged a $150,000 law suit against Simon Wright, the founder of one of Australia's most widely visited telecommunications user forums, Whirlpool.net.au.

Whirlpool, sometimes affectionately referred to as "Whingepool" amongst those who visit and post to the site, is run on a non-profit, voluntary basis, and was originated in 1998 primarily as a forum for Telstra Bigpond broadband users. It now claims nearly 190,000 registered members and receives thousands of visits and posts every day. 2Clix develops low-end business accounting software fulfilling similar roles to more widely known products such as Quickbooks and MYOB.

According to the Statement of Claim lodged by 2Clix in the Supreme Court of Queensland on 17 August, Simon Wright allowed statements "relating to the Plaintiff and its software product that are both false and malicious" to be published on the Whirlpool forums."

The 2Clix document seeks damages of $150,000 plus costs for "Injurous Falsehood" and a demand to remove two threads "2Clix or Not 2Clix?" and "Anyone used 2Clix?" from the Whirlpool forums website.

The statement also provides numerous examples of derogatory comments about 2Clix and the quality of its software product from Whirlpool posters using pseudonyms. The failure of Whirlpool to verify the identity of the posters before registering them is one of the points of contention of the lawsuit.

Whirlpool has issued a statement on its homepage stating:

"Whirlpool believes the action has no merit and will defend the matter vigorously, despite being a community website with little resources."

iTWire contacted 2Clix for comment but was told by the company's general manager David Morgan that he was precluded from making any comment concerning the legal suit.

A 2Clix user, who asked not to be named, told iTWire that his company had spent $50,000 on the software more than one year ago to replace its existing accounting suite. The user said his firm had since commenced a legal action against the accounting software company and was waiting for a date to be set for the court case.

The 2Clix user also claimed that he knew of a further two legal actions that were in process against 2Clix. "The first court case will be heard next Monday (September 16) and a further case will be in VCAT (Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal) on September 24," the user claimed. However, as the user declined to name the companies involved, the alleged legal actions against 2Clix could not be verified.

iTWire understands that a class action law suit may have been initiated against 2Clix through a prominent Australian law firm, but we have been unable to confirm this with the law firm yet.