Coast Runner Names Kickstarter, Indiegogo in Federal Antitrust Lawsuit
The company claims the crowdfunding platforms are a "duopoly," alleges conspiracy behind shutdown of the campaigns for its CR-1 desktop CNC machine.
Coast Runner has filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against Kickstarter, Indiegogo, Launchboom, and two unnamed individuals, alleging conspiracy behind the blanket shutdown of its crowdfunding campaigns.
The company’s CR-1 desktop CNC machine made waves online at the time of its announcement. However, its campaigns were quickly pulled from Kickstarter and then Indiegogo for what was claimed, at least in Kickstarter’s case, were violations of prohibited items and misrepresentation policies.
Coast Runner was also named in a lawsuit brought by the state of California, which alleges that Coast Runner is an “alter ego” of Ghost Gunner and Defence Distributed (PDF), the machines of which are banned in the state, as they potentially allow users to create parts for ghost guns.
In a blog post announcing its federal antitrust suit, filed in Texas, Coast Runner claims it has “proof of illegal, coordinated action from a duopoly that pretends it can control the direction of American industrial life.” The alleged antitrust behavior is outlined in Coast Runner’s filing (PDF) against the crowdfunding platforms, Launchboom, and the unnamed individuals.
As of this writing, the Coast Runner CR-1 CNC machine is available for purchase on the company’s website. However, it is not available to California residents. The results of both the state’s and Coast Runner’s lawsuits will be interesting indeed – and potentially have far-reaching consequences.
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