AI Firm Accuses SAP of Stealing Supply-Chain Trade Secrets

Core Viewpoint - o9 Solutions Inc. has filed a lawsuit against SAP SE, alleging that three former executives misappropriated trade secrets related to supply-chain management software, which has led to SAP allegedly altering its software to resemble o9's offerings [1][2][5] Group 1: Lawsuit Details - The lawsuit was filed in Dallas federal court, claiming that the stolen trade secrets pertain to the design, implementation, and testing of o9's supply-chain management software [1] - o9 Solutions asserts that SAP has been losing customers to competitors due to its outdated platform, prompting SAP to launch an aggressive campaign to acquire o9's trade secrets [2] - The lawsuit names three former o9 executives as defendants, who allegedly downloaded tens of thousands of documents before joining SAP [3] Group 2: Executive Movements - The former o9 executives involved in the lawsuit have taken significant positions at SAP: Stephan de Barse is now president of SAP's global business suite, Sean Zonneveld is the global chief revenue officer for procurement, and Stijn-Pieter van Houten is the chief product officer for supply chain management planning [4] Group 3: Company Position - o9 Solutions emphasizes the importance of fair competition and employee mobility but insists that it will not tolerate the misappropriation of its trade secrets, which undermines its investments in developing transformative solutions [5]