Datacenter and hybrid multi-cloud software program supplier Nutanix has filed a lawsuit in opposition to database-as-a-service (DBaaS) offering startup, Tessell, alleging that its merchandise had been constructed utilizing Nutanix’s supply code and different sources.
The lawsuit, extra considerably, is focused on the three co-founders of the San Francisco-headquartered Tessell, together with Bala Kuchibhotla, Kamaldeep Khanuja, and Bakul Banthia. The lawsuit alleged that the co-founders developed Tessell merchandise whereas being employed at Nutanix.
Whereas Kuchibhotla served as the overall supervisor and senior VP of the Period enterprise, Khanuja and Banthia had been senior engineers.
“Kuchibhotla used Nutanix amenities, gear, providers, and even the Nutanix Period supply code when growing the Tessell product. Kuchibhotla deliberate, developed, obtained preliminary financing for, and demonstrated prototypes of the competing product—all utilizing Nutanix computer systems,” the corporate alleged within the lawsuit filed with the Northern District Courtroom of California.
“One of many Tessell prototypes they demonstrated really ran on Nutanix servers,” the corporate added.
The lawsuit additional goes on to say that the theft of mental property was found after the corporate carried out an intensive forensic investigation of their inner sources, which was triggered primarily based on suspicions arising submit the launch of Tessell’s choices.
“When Tessell launched its product in late 2022, nonetheless, the pace with which it got here to market with options strikingly just like Period precipitated Nutanix to start a full-fledged forensic investigation,” the corporate stated.
Nutanix describes its Period providing as software program that helps enterprises handle a number of databases in servers situated of their information facilities or hybrid cloud environments.
Basically, Period simplifies the processes for managing databases, together with creating, populating, backing up, duplicating, and administering databases, the corporate defined, including that Period helps enterprises lower down on time, cash, and expertise considerably.
Tessell’s choices, which embody focused merchandise for PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQL Server, Milvus, Oracle, MongoDB, and SQL Server, compete with Nutanix Period, which additionally helps databases corresponding to Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, MongoDB, MySQL, and PostgreSQL.
The corporate sees the act of the three founders as a case of mental property theft because it believes that each one three former staff had been contractually certain to reveal and assign “the stolen IP” to Nutanix.
An e-mail question despatched to Tessell in regards to the lawsuit acquired no response.
In a separate assertion to the press, Nutanix stated that the lawsuit filed in opposition to Tessell and its founders additionally alleges that they schemed to take away all indicia of Nutanix branding from their prototype, after which tried to cowl their tracks by wiping their Nutanix laptops.
“Nutanix is searching for the return of its stolen mental property, an injunction to cease additional infringement, restitution for the Nutanix sources taken by the three former staff for the founding of Tessell, and cash damages in an quantity to be confirmed,” the corporate stated.
Additional, Nutanix added that it was commencing separate arbitration proceedings in opposition to the Tessell founders per their Nutanix worker agreements.
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