Abstract
Kaiser Permanente entered into an IT contract with Epic Systems to provide software support in 2003 and engaged Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) as a subcontractor in 2011. TCS did not have full access to Epic’s “UserWeb” portal. It got unauthorised access and downloaded thousands of files. As a result, Epic sued TCS for infringement of its intellectual property. The jury awarded USD 940 million to Epic. It was later reduced to USD 280 million by the Seventh Circuit Court which was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. The case examines the unethical conduct of TCS employees, need for better IT security measures and clearer laws about damages.
Additional Information
| Product Type | Case |
|---|---|
| Reference No. | IS0151 |
| Title | Epic-TCS: Trade Secrets in IT Contracts |
| Pages | 16 |
| Published on | Jul 28, 2025 |
| Year of Event | 2014-2023 |
| Authors | Agarwal, Anurag K. ; |
| Area | Information Systems (IS) |
| Discipline | Ethics and Governance, International Business, IT and Systems, Public Policy and Law, Strategic Management |
| Sector | Health, Telecom and Software |
| Learning Objective | • Understand the importance of ethical and legal conduct in the performance of IT contracts. • Assess the intellectual property issues, mainly trade secrets and confidential information, in IT contracts. • Critically evaluate the law for the awarding of compensatory and punitive damages in the U.S. for infringement of IT contracts. |
| Keywords | Trade Secrets; Confidential information; Software; Compensatory Damages; Punitive Damages; IT Contract |
| Country | United States of America |
| Access | For All |
My Cart
You have no items
in your shopping cart.