 "Meta, like all other tech companies very fierce in to protect their intellectual property. Khurana uploaded a collection of proprietary, sensitive, and confidential documents about Meta's operations and employees")
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has initiated legal action against its former Vice President of Infrastructure, Dipinder Singh Khurana, also known as T S Khurana, for allegedly stealing confidential documents prior to joining a secretive AI cloud computing startup.
The lawsuit was filed on February 29 in a California state court and accuses Khurana of breaching his contract and engaging in disloyal conduct, as per a Bloomberg report.
According to the lawsuit, Khurana, who spent 12 years at Meta, uploaded a collection of proprietary, sensitive, and confidential documents about Meta’s operations and employees to his personal Google Drive and Dropbox accounts just before departing from the company. These documents purportedly include details about employee compensation and performance, as well as undisclosed business agreements.
Meta asserts that at least eight employees mentioned in the documents Khurana uploaded subsequently left the company to join Khurana’s new startup. The lawsuit characterizes Khurana’s actions during his departure from Meta and thereafter as showing a complete disregard for his contractual and legal responsibilities.
A spokesperson for Meta highlighted in a statement issues to the press the company’s commitment to safeguarding its confidential information, emphasizing that Meta takes such serious misconduct seriously and will continue to protect its business and employee data.
This lawsuit is part of a broader trend of major tech companies taking legal action to protect their intellectual property. Earlier this month, a Google engineer was indicted for allegedly stealing hundreds of confidential files containing AI trade secrets from the company.
The legal proceedings initiated by Meta shed light on the fierce competition and high stakes in the technology industry, particularly in the domains of AI and cloud computing. Given Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s direct involvement in the legal battle, this case is expected to garner significant attention as it progresses through the court system.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThe outcome of this legal dispute could have significant ramifications for both Meta and Khurana’s new venture, highlighting the importance of safeguarding intellectual property and honouring contractual obligations in the fiercely competitive landscape of the tech industry.
(With inputs from agencies)