Nutanix Files Theft of Intellectual Property Lawsuit Against Tessell, Inc.
March 20 2024 - 4:37PM
Business Wire
Nutanix asserts willful copyright and patent
infringement, including theft of Nutanix resources and its database
service source code
Nutanix (NASDAQ: NTNX), a leader in hybrid multicloud computing,
today announced that it filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court
in San Jose, alleging that Tessell, Inc. engaged in willful
copyright and patent infringement, including theft of Nutanix’s
source code and intellectual property related to the Company’s
database service offering.
As alleged in the Federal complaint, Tessell’s founders include
former Nutanix employees Bala Kuchibhotla, Kamal Khanuja, and Bakul
Banthia. The complaint against Tessell alleges that, during their
employment with Nutanix, these former employees covertly designed,
built, demonstrated, and secured financing for the future Tessell
product, using Nutanix source code, servers and other resources.
The complaint alleges that they took Nutanix Era1 source code with
them to Tessell, which used it.
The complaint further alleges that they schemed to remove all
indicia of Nutanix branding from their prototype, and then tried to
cover their tracks by wiping their Nutanix laptops. Nutanix is
seeking the return of its stolen intellectual property, an
injunction to stop further infringement, restitution for the
Nutanix resources taken by the three former employees for the
founding of Tessell, and money damages in an amount to be proven.
Nutanix also announced that it is commencing separate arbitration
proceedings against the Tessell founders per their Nutanix employee
agreements.
“It has been shocking to learn of the behavior of these former
employees during their employment, the scope of what they took from
Nutanix, and the steps they took to hide their use of Nutanix
resources to found their company,” said Tyler Wall, Chief Legal
Officer at Nutanix. “Nutanix believes strongly in fair competition
and its importance and value to the industry overall, and it is
with deliberate and thoughtful consideration that we have decided
to file this lawsuit. The facts that our investigation uncovered
were egregious. We look forward to presenting our evidence and
proving our claims in the litigation.”
Nutanix believes in innovation, but stealing intellectual
property and source code is not innovation. Nutanix does not have a
history of suing companies or people. The facts found in this
situation were too nefarious to ignore. Nutanix Database Service is
a valued part of the Company’s product portfolio, and unfettered
theft of its intellectual property and source code cannot go
unaddressed.
About Nutanix
Nutanix is a global leader in cloud software, offering
organizations a single platform for running apps and data across
clouds. With Nutanix, companies can reduce complexity and simplify
operations, freeing them to focus on their business outcomes.
Building on its legacy as the pioneer of hyperconverged
infrastructure, Nutanix is trusted by companies worldwide to power
hybrid multicloud environments consistently, simply, and
cost-effectively. Learn more at www.nutanix.com or follow us on
social media @nutanix.
© 2024 Nutanix, Inc. All rights reserved. Nutanix, the Nutanix
logo, and all Nutanix product and service names mentioned herein
are registered trademarks or unregistered trademarks of Nutanix,
Inc. (“Nutanix”) in the United States and other countries. Other
brand names or marks mentioned herein are for identification
purposes only and may be the trademarks of their respective
holder(s). This press release is for informational purposes only
and nothing herein constitutes a warranty or other binding
commitment by Nutanix. This release may contain express and implied
forward-looking statements, which are not historical facts and are
instead based on Nutanix’s current expectations, estimates and
beliefs. The accuracy of such statements involves risks and
uncertainties and depends upon future events, including those that
may be beyond Nutanix’s control, and actual results may differ
materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied by such
statements. Any forward-looking statements included herein speak
only as of the date hereof and, except as required by law, Nutanix
assumes no obligation to update or otherwise revise any of such
forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or
circumstances. _____________ 1 Nutanix Era is now called NDB,
Nutanix Database Service
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240320090560/en/
Media Contact Jennifer Massaro, VP of Corporate
Communications pr@nutanix.com
Investor Contact Richard Valera, VP of Investor Relations
ir@nutanix.com
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