ExaNet petitioned the Tel Aviv District Court to immediately dismiss the suit filed by nSOF Parallel Software. Oracle President Larry Ellison owns nSOF. Exanet alleges nSOF had extraneous motives for its claim, and is seeking to use the suit to obstruct and harm the activity and development of ExaNet, which operates in nSOF’s market.
NSOF claims that ExaNet conspired with five former nSOF employees now working at ExaNet to steal nSOF’s intellectual property rights and transfer them to ExaNet. NSOF asserts that ExaNet is using this intellectual property in its technology.
NSOF petitioned the Court for a restraining order forbidding ExaNet from continuing to develop or manufacture the technology and from using its patents and commercial secrets. NSOF also asked the Court to declare that nSOF owns the intellectual property, which was stolen and transferred to ExaNet.
For its part, ExaNet is petitioning the court for immediate dismissal of the suit. If the court rejects this request, ExaNet is asking that nSOF be required to deposit a $33.8 million guarantee for damages caused by the suit filed against it.
ExaNet says it offered to allow nSof to compare the two companies’ technologies that are in dispute in order to settle the issue, but nSOF refused. ExaNet alleges that this refusal indicates nSOF is aware that its claim is groundless.
According to ExaNet, it has an expert opinion that undermines the basis for the suit – the alleged similarity between the technologies of nSOF and ExaNet.
ExaNet asserts that nSOF approached one of its employees, who ExaNet says committed fraud. ExaNet also alleges nSOF committed extortion by offering the employee his job back and promising to cancel nSOF’s claim filed against him in the Labor Court if he accepted the offer.
Published by Israel's Business Arena on June 27, 2001