International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) secured a legal victory in London on Monday against U.S. tech entrepreneur and philanthropist John Moores’ company, LzLabs, which the IT giant had accused of misappropriating trade secrets.
Moores, the former owner of Major League Baseball’s San Diego Padres franchise and the founder of the information technology business BMC Software in 1980, was sued by IBM in the High Court along with two English companies and Switzerland-based LzLabs.
The company alleged LzLabs’ UK subsidiary Winsopia purchased an IBM mainframe computer and agreed a licence with IBM in 2013, before using the access to reverse-engineer IBM’s mainframe software.
LzLabs and Moores fought the lawsuit, arguing LzLabs developed its own software after nearly a decade of work and there was no unlawful use of IBM’s licensed software.
But the High Court largely ruled in the company’s favour, with Judge Finola O’Farrell saying in a written ruling that Winsopia breached the terms of its IBM software licence and that “LzLabs and Mr Moores unlawfully procured (those) breaches.”
Monday’s ruling followed a trial last year to determine whether the defendants were liable to International Business Machines Corporation, with a further hearing to determine any damages to take place in due course.
IBM’s lawsuit against LzLabs Limited, another British company, and its previous and current CEOs was dismissed.
