Infosys-Cognizant row nears end as Dallas court passes order

A 10-month legal battle between two of the world's largest information technology (IT) services companies may be drawing to a close, with a Dallas court asking Cognizant and Infosys to join a conference call with it to settle parts of their dispute.

- Jas Bardia

In a 23 May order, the court welcomed both parties to discuss matters pertaining to the case over a call with the court.

"This is not an invitation to engage in ex parte communications or obtain advisory rulings from the court," judge David L. Horan clarified.

"Rather, the parties are required to attempt to resolve by agreement any disputes on non-dispositive pretrial discovery matters by meaningfully conferring before seeking the court's involvement."

The order essentially directs Cognizant and Infosys to discuss and settle any disagreements about what information they'll share before trial.

"But, if that fails to resolve the dispute, the parties are encouraged, where appropriate, to seek an informal telephone conference with the court to attempt to resolve simple and straightforward disputes in an efficient and cost-effective manner."

In a separate order on the same day, the court asked Cognizant to provide by 13 June details of people with knowledge of Infosys's healthcare software product and the names of individuals it believes stole its proprietary software.