While alleging anti-competitive practices and targeted poaching of its key executives, IT giant Infosys has filed a counterclaim against Cognizant in a Texas federal court, said a media report.
How Did This Happen?
According to the Bengaluru-based firm, the US-based rival is contractually restricting clients from awarding IT services to competitors and withholding software training, which Infosys claims hindered its ability to compete.
Interestingly this lawsuit comes after Cognizant’s subsidiary TriZetto sued Infosys in August last year.
The company accused the Indian IT giant of misappropriating trade secrets related to its healthcare insurance software.
It appears that the TriZetto’s Facets and QNXT platforms, widely used by healthcare insurers to automate administrative tasks, were central to the initial legal dispute.
Further, Infosys accused Cognizant of deliberately recruiting its senior executives, including S Ravi Kumar, who was appointed CEO of Cognizant in 2023 in its counterclaim.
This slowed the development of its competing software, Infosys Helix claimed.
Moving ahead, Infosys counterclaim seeks three times the damages incurred, along with attorney fees, though the total amount has not been disclosed.
Dispute Further Escalating In Future
In response to these allegations, Cognizant said that it would take firm action, maintaining that Infosys had improperly used its intellectual property.
Further adding, “Cognizant encourages competition, but competitors cannot use Cognizant’s IP to unfairly compete, as Infosys has done,” in a statement.
So far, Infosys declined to release any comments in this regard.
This dispute seems to have escalated with TriZetto’s claim that Infosys had repackaged its proprietary data into an Infosys product under the guise of “Test Cases for Facets.”
This was countered by Infosys arguing that Cognizant’s anti-competitive actions, including restrictive contract clauses, were impeding fair competition in the IT services sector.
This case, which was filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas, has drawn attention due to its potential implications for the competitive landscape of the global IT industry.
In future, the legal battle is expected to intensify with both companies accusing each other of misconduct.
