Case: Intel Laptop Battery Litig., No. 09-CV-02889-JW (N.D. Cal.)
Court: Northern District of California
Class Period: September 1, 2003-Present
Attorneys: Laurence D. King, Linda Fong, Mario Choi

Kaplan Fox represents a class of consumers who purchased laptop computers equipped with a processor from Defendant Intel Corporation (“Intel”) whose battery life was measured by a benchmark called MobileMark 2007. The program, written and copyrighted by Intel, was “donated” to and distributed by Defendant Business Applications Performance Corporation (“BAPCo”). The program allegedly tests the life of a laptop computer’s battery, but, in reality, tests the battery life of a laptop computer under contrived conditions that do not resemble real-world conditions. Plaintiffs allege that Intel wrote and copyrighted this and other benchmarks that tilted towards and favored its own processors over competing products. Plaintiffs also allege that these benchmarks gave prospective consumers the sense that laptops with Intel processors performed better and had longer battery lives than laptops equipped with processors from its competitors. Plaintiffs allege that the skew created by the MobileMark 2007 benchmark gave Intel an advantage over its competitors and resulted in higher profits for Intel, as consumers are more willing to buy at higher prices Intel-equipped laptops because the battery life of such laptops allegedly lasted longer than products with its competitors’ processors.

Plaintiffs assert a claim of violation of California’s Unfair Competition Law. Pending before the Honorable James Ware in the Northern District of California, factual discovery is currently underway in this matter.