Did TCS Employees Steal Trade Secrets of American Company? - Details

US court on Friday, charged Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) $140 million as compensatory damage in an intellectual property lawsuit which was filed by Epic System Corp. Wisconsin-based company, The Verona complained of this theft.

According to the company, TCS employees had stolen certain trade secrets of the company while coordinating with them for a project. In 2014, TCS was hired by Epic to help aid the company in setting up a medical facility in Portland, US. During the tenure of that project, TCS employees who were working at the site had gained knowledge of certain trade secrets.

Trade secret under the US intellectual properties rights, is defined as “a formula, pattern, compilation, program, device, method, technique or process”, which can present a company with an “opportunity to obtain an economic advantage over competitors who do not know or use it.”

Basing factors upon the information gained, TCS built a “rip-off” of the original software that Epic had developed. Hence, charges were pressed.

In 2016, TCS was found guilty and from several hundred millions, the cost imposed on TCS was brought down. On Friday, the US court declared $140 million but also asked the lower court to reconsider the $280 million charged for punitive damages.

However, throughout, TCS maintained its case and said that it did not “misuse or derive any benefit from downloaded documents from Epic Systems.”