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Accenture, Guidewire Allegations Dismissed -- Accenture's 'bare allegations' are deemed insufficient to support either a claim that Guidewire stole trade secrets or the charge that Guidewire could be damaged by such allegations.

12/1/08 Ins. & Tech. 15 (2008) Anthony O'Donnell The Delaware U.S. District Court has dismissed both Accenture's trade secret misappropriation charges against Guidewire Software and Guidewire's subsequent charges claiming that Accenture's allegations constituted bad faith litigation that was harmful to Guidewire's prospects in the marketplace. While the court's Oct. 8 decision to accept motions from both parties to dismiss certain charges, expressed in an opinion written by Judge Sue L. Robinson, puts an end to substantial aspects of Chicago-based Accenture's suit against Guidewire - at least for the time being - an Accenture source notes that the company's patent infringement case against Guidewire is "alive and well." Accenture's suit, filed in December 2007, is related to Guidewire's interaction with Chicago-based P&C carrier CNA, which in 2003 accepted a bid for Guidewire's claims solution at a price $10 million less than Accenture's bid for implementation of the Accenture Claim Components solution. Accenture questioned Guidewire's (San Mateo, Calif.) ability to provide an acceptable solution to the carrier within the given time frame. Guidewire "seemed to have a surprisingly quick development trajectory, particularly in light of its small size and relatively light experience in the insurance market," Accenture alleged, inferring from that speedy trajectory that Guidewire "somehow gained access to Accenture trade secrets in creating its software and services."

Full post as published by The Trade Secrets Vault on December 15, 2008 (boomark / email).