Cognizant TriZetto Software Group Inc has filed a case against Infosys Limited in a US court over alleged misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of contract, and unfair competition.
Cognizant in its allegation filed with a Texas court said the Bengaluru-headquartered IT company unlawfully extracted data from Cognizant databases and used it to build and market competing software.
Infosys denied the allegations in a statement and said it would defend itself in court.
Cognizant asked the court for an unspecified amount of monetary damages and an order for Infosys to stop misusing its trade secrets.
"Infosys, a multinational technology company, gained access to certain of TriZetto's closely guarded, proprietary software offerings, and related technical documentation, under the guise of Non-Disclosures and Access Agreements (NDAAs) that it executed with TriZetto for the limited purpose of equipping Infosys to complete work for certain Infosys clients, who were also customers of TriZetto," Cognizant said in the papers filed with the Texas court.
"The NDAAs narrowly and strictly define the contours of Infosys's authorized access to TriZetto's proprietary information and trade secrets, granting access to a very limited number of Infosys employees for narrowly specified reasons. Yet, in contravention of those agreements, Infosys has misappropriated TriZetto's trade secrets and stolen its confidential information to develop or enhance its own competing software and service offerings for its own financial gain, thus causing severe and irreparable harm to TriZetto," Cognizant said.
Cognizant earned more than $19.3 billion in revenue last year, while Infosys earned more than $18.5 billion, according to company reports.
Cognizant won $854 million from Atos' Syntel in a separate dispute over Facets trade secrets in 2020. The award was later cut and then overturned on appeal last year, though the court found that Syntel was still liable for an amount of damages to be determined.
With inputs from Reuters
