accessiBe and UserWay: the Tel Aviv dispute (2020–2021)

analysisOn June 1, 2020 accessiBe published a blog article titled "Using an accessibility plugin like UserWay? You are at risk of litigation", aimed at its competitor; Adrian Roselli wrote that the articles it cited were all published in the first ten days of June, with duplicates among them. In January 2021 UserWay Ltd. sued accessiBe Ltd. in the Tel Aviv-Yafo District Court (case 43503-01-21), seeking ₪2,800,000 in damages, a permanent injunction, mandatory relief and an accounting, and asked for temporary relief against publications, including paid Google advertising, that it said falsely portrayed its products as failing accessibility rules. UserWay said that of eight articles accessiBe presented as coming from different sources two were identical, two did not mention UserWay and three were written by an accessiBe employee without saying so. These are UserWay's allegations as recorded by the court; no decision on their merits is in the record. accessiBe argued that the publication was true, that UserWay Ltd., incorporated on July 7, 2020, was not the right plaintiff because the operating company was UserWay Inc., and that the application came too late, the publications having been online for months. On March 2, 2021 the court granted the application for temporary relief in part; a judgment on the main claim is not among the retained records. ^{1 2 3}

analysisJudge Gershon Gontovnik rejected the delay objection, found sufficient prima facie evidence of a cause of action and held that accessiBe's article and related paid advertising presented as objective a factual message of litigation risk from UserWay's products, without distinguishing its free and paid products; he noted the article's "lawsuit magnet" expression. Rather than a full ban, he ordered accessiBe to state by March 11, 2021 that the message concerned UserWay's free products or plug-ins, failing which a temporary injunction would bar mentioning UserWay in those publications; the order was conditioned on a ₪60,000 bond, and accessiBe was ordered to pay ₪10,000 plus VAT in costs. It was an interim ruling on temporary relief, and the outcome of the main claim and of any counterclaim is not in the record. ^{3 2}

analysisUserWay published its own comparison page attacking accessiBe in 2021, which Roselli archived on September 9, 2021. Its board report for the period to June 30, 2024, filed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange disclosure system, lists no material legal proceeding other than a class action against UserWay, Inc. in Delaware, so the Israeli dispute with accessiBe does not appear among its material proceedings; the report does not say whether the case ended or was considered immaterial. On March 20, 2024 Level Access announced that it had completed its acquisition of UserWay; an online encyclopedia article, the source of the deal value and listing history, states that the cash deal announced in December 2023 was valued at $98.7 million and that UserWay, founded in 2016, had listed in Tel Aviv in January 2022. An Israeli software directory describes UserWay's offering in terms close to accessiBe's, as an AI widget that ensures compliance with WCAG, the ADA and Section 508 and reduces legal risk; that is promotional directory text, not verified. ^{1 2 3 4 5}