11:54 AM EDT, 07/19/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Booking.com (BKNG) was found to have violated the US Computer Fraud and Abuse Act in a unanimous ruling by a Delaware district court on a screen scraping lawsuit filed by Ryanair ( RYAOF ) .

The court, which issued the verdict late Thursday, also dismissed Booking.com's counterclaims against Ryanair ( RYAOF ), including claims for defamation, unfair competition, and deceptive trade practices.

The jury said Ryanair ( RYAOF ) was able to prove that Booking.com had "intentionally directed, encouraged, or induced" a third party to access a portion of Ryanair's ( RYAOF ) website without authorization.

Ryanair ( RYAOF ) Chief Executive Michael O'Leary, in a statement, welcomed the court ruling, adding he expects the ruling "will end the internet piracy and overcharging perpetrated on both airlines and other travel companies and consumers" by booking sites.

Booking.com said it intends to appeal the court ruling.

"We are disappointed with the decision, with which we disagree. We maintain that allowing customers to access and compare fares across the travel industry promotes consumer choice, and plan to appeal," it said in a statement to MT Newswires.

Price: 3947.14, Change: +16.58, Percent Change: +0.42