Explained: Why Infosys, Cognizant are battling it out in a US court

Infosys and Cognizant are locked in a legal battle over trade secrets, anti-competitive practices, and executive poaching in healthcare IT. Here's a deep dive

IT giant Infosys and Cognizant, a Nasdaq-listed firm, are engaged in a bitter legal battle in a court in Dallas. The dispute centres on allegations of trade secret misappropriation and anti-competitive practices within the healthcare software sector.

 

Here's everything you need to know about the case.

 

What are Cognizant's allegations against Infosys?

 

In August 2024, Cognizant's subsidiary and healthcare software, TriZetto, filed a case in a court in Dallas, Texas, against Infosys for allegedly stealing their trade secrets. TriZetto's software suite, including platforms like Facets and QNXT, is widely utilised by healthcare insurance companies to automate administrative tasks such as claims processing and payments. The lawsuit claims that Infosys unlawfully accessed and extracted data from TriZetto's databases to develop and market competing software solutions

 

Cognizant alleges that Infosys misused TriZetto's software to create 'Test Cases for Facets,' which purportedly repackaged TriZetto's data into an Infosys product. Additionally, the complaint accuses Infosys of developing software to extract data from QNXT, encompassing confidential information and trade secrets. Cognizant is seeking monetary damages and an injunction to prevent Infosys from further exploiting its proprietary information.

 

On February 7 this year, Cognizant filed a 22-page response in a Dallas court, alleging that Infosys was "caught red-handed" misappropriating trade secrets related to TriZetto.

 

Cognizant claimed that Infosys had access to these trade secrets through Non-Disclosure and Access Agreements (NDAAs) but misused this information to develop competing products. Furthermore, Cognizant alleged that Infosys obstructed efforts to audit its use of TriZetto's information, which could have clarified the specifics of the alleged misappropriation.

 

What are Infosys' allegations against Cognizant?

 

In January 2025, Infosys knocked on the doors of the federal court, alleging anti-competitive practices and the poaching of key executives to hinder the development of its healthcare platform, Infosys Helix. The IT major accused Cognizant's current Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ravi Kumar, previously an Infosys veteran, of deliberately delaying the progress of its Helix Platform, which was designed to compete with Cognizant's TriZetto.

 

Infosys claimed that Kumar, who joined Cognizant in January 2023, was also in charge of the development and sales of the platform, adding that he "delayed the process" since he was in talks with Cognizant. It further alleged that Kumar was "aware of the confidential information and slowed Helix's launch by not allocating new talent to the project."

 

“His decisions effectively meant that, at the time, Infosys 'cannot do any new development' for Helix," Infosys said, as reported by LiveMint.

 

In its countersuit, Infosys accused Kumar of "anticompetitive practices by maintaining its monopoly." Accusing him of misusing sensitive information, the IT firm sought a trial and three times the damages it claims to have suffered, Business Standard reported in January.

 

What happened at February 28 hearing?

 

Denying Cognizant's allegations in the court, Infosys said last week that "Cognizant’s mention of broad categories of trade secrets did not qualify as specific trade secrets that are alleged to have been stolen."

 

The IT giant further urged the Dallas court to ask Cognizant to identify the alleged misappropriated trade secrets properly. The company denied Cognizant’s allegations because the information about TriZetto was publicly available.

 

“The first six-plus pages of Cognizant’s response are non-responsive background information about the Facets and QNXT software that reads like a marketing piece interspersed with legal argument,"  Infosys said in its 16-page reply to the court, as reported by LiveMint.

 

Further, in its response, Infosys called out Cognizant's "U-turn" on how it wanted to file the 'legal documents.' It stated that the lack of Cognizant's response is highlighted by its stance on how the documents may be filed publicly.

 

Reiterating its stance, Infosys added not even a single test case related to the 'allegedly stolen trade secret' was recognised by Cognizant.

 

The case comes at a time when both Cognizant and Infosys are eyeing the second spot in the Indian IT services industry after Tata Consultancy Services.