o9 Solutions has filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas against SAP SE and SAP America, Inc.
The complaint alleges that SAP has used stolen o9 trade secrets and confidential documents to develop and market its own Integrated Business Planning supply chain management software and services.
o9 alleges that SAP’s actions constitute intentional corporate espionage,enabling it to bypass its own R&D and compete unfairly.
The complaint details how at least three former o9 executives, while still employed at o9, conspired with SAP and downloaded tens of thousands of confidential files.
These individuals then resigned to join SAP, where they now hold key roles in using o9’s stolen technology and information to compete against their former employer.
The Co-Founder and CEO of o9,
Chakri Gottemukkala, said, “o9 created its market-leading platform for AI-enabled enterprise planning and execution through extensive investments in research and development. We are proud of the innovations of the o9 Digital Brain platform powered by its Enterprise Knowledge Graph technology, and the value that it is driving in the marketplace. Blatant copying and misappropriation of proprietary intellectual property create an unfair playing field.”
Gottemukkala added, “o9 believes that the evidence of SAP’s coordinated attack on o9 is clear and compelling. We will vigorously protect o9’s valuable intellectual property and confidential business knowledge while continuing to develop industry-changing technologies that benefit our customers across many industries worldwide.”
The complaint alleges that,just before resigning, the three executives deceptively accessed and downloaded over 20,000 highly confidential files.
These files contained o9’s core intellectual property, including technical architecture, business roadmaps, and sales strategies.
Simultaneously, the lawsuit claims SAP began marketing and selling services that directly incorporated o9’s innovations, benefiting from this stolen knowledge.
o9’s filing seeks both injunctive relief to bar SAP from possessing and using the confidential information,as well as monetary damages.
