SAN JOSE, Calif. - Nutanix (NASDAQ: NASDAQ:NTNX), a company specializing in hybrid multicloud computing, has filed a lawsuit against Tessell, Inc., accusing it of willful copyright and patent infringement. The lawsuit, lodged in the U.S. District Court in San Jose, claims that Tessell misappropriated Nutanix's source code and intellectual property associated with its database service.
According to the complaint, three Tessell founders, previously employed by Nutanix, are alleged to have used Nutanix's resources, including its source code and servers, to develop and finance Tessell's product while still employed at Nutanix.
The lawsuit alleges that the trio took the Nutanix Era source code, now known as NDB or Nutanix Database Service, and attempted to remove any trace of Nutanix branding from their product prototype.
The complaint also accuses the former Nutanix employees of attempting to cover their actions by erasing data on their Nutanix-issued laptops. Nutanix is seeking the return of its intellectual property, an injunction to prevent further infringement, restitution for its resources used in the establishment of Tessell, and monetary damages, the amount of which will be determined in court.
Tyler Wall, Nutanix's Chief Legal Officer, expressed dismay over the actions of the former employees and emphasized the company's commitment to fair competition. The legal action was taken after an investigation revealed what Nutanix describes as "egregious" activities.
Nutanix, which prides itself on being a pioneer in cloud software and hyperconverged infrastructure, asserts that the lawsuit is a necessary step to protect its valued product portfolio from what it considers outright theft of its intellectual property.
The company has also initiated separate arbitration proceedings against the Tessell founders based on their employee agreements with Nutanix. This legal action is reported based on a press release statement from Nutanix.
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