Unlockd wins Google reprieve as UK court grants interim injunction

Unlockd has had a win over Google in Britain, with an interim injunction preventing its removal from app store.

Unlockd CEO Matt Berriman

Australian mobile advertising start-up Unlockd has had a partial win over technology giant Google, with the company able to keep its operations afloat in Britain for the time being.

Unlockd has been granted an interim injunction by the English High Court that prevents Google from removing the company’s app from the Google app store and disabling AdMob-generated advertising content.

Unlockd has operations in the US and in Australia, which are not covered by the injunction, and the fate of the services is currently unclear. Google has declined to comment on the matter.

The start-up said that it does not expect Google to take unilateral action against the US and Australian arms of the business. The case will return to the court next week where a date for a full hearing will be set.

“Despite this positive ruling, the limited scope of the interim injunction is disappointing and we will continue to explore our legal options to protect our interests fully, both in the UK and globally,” Unlockd said in a statement.

Unlockd, which delivers targeted advertising to users when they unlock their smartphones in return for plan discounts and credit, has 330,000 monthly active users worldwide and was on the cusp of pulling off a $50 million IPO before it ran into trouble with Google.

The company backed by some of the biggest names in Australian business, including Lachlan Murdoch, former Seven Group chief executive Peter Gammell and Catch of The Day co-founders Hezi and Gabby Leibovich, is fighting for its survival after Google threatened to pull the plug on the company’s apps and disable advertising content from its AdMob marketplace them.

The AdMob mobile advertising platform allows app developers to place relevant in-app advertising from advertisers and accounts for a sizeable chunk of Unlockd’s revenue.

It’s understood that Google has determined that Unlockd infringes at least four of its existing policies, however, Unlockd says the tech giant’s real motive was to delegitimise Unlockd’s business model and prevent it from getting bigger.

“Google has reviewed this twice and said to us both in writing and verbally that we are within their policy,” Unlockd co-founder Matt Berriman told The Australian in April.

Unlockd has also labelled Google’s actions anticompetitive warning that it conduct reduces competition in the market and can hurt consumers.

“We are confident that we will demonstrate at trial that our case represents a further example of anti-competitive conduct on the part of Google, toward innovative start-ups such as ourselves that might pose a future threat to their dominance in the market,” the company said in a statement on Thursday.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is keeping a close eye on Unlockd’s stoush with Google, with ACCC boss Rod Sims saying that it was an important case in the context of the regulator’s broader investigation into the digital media market and the global strength of the tech giants.

“We are following this very closely and gathering information,” he told The Australian.

“We have a team looking at it and it’s something we have a very active interest in this.”