3M drops IBM healthcare software suit
US conglomerate 3M has dropped its copyright infringement claim against technology company IBM less than one month after filing suit.
3M had accused IBM and its Truven Health Analytics unit of “secretly” using 3M software to produce data for sale to clients, in a late January lawsuit. The suit was made public in a redacted form in early February.
“This lawsuit concerns Truven and IBM’s exploitation of that proprietary software in unauthorised ways, underpayment of agreed-upon licence fees, and obstruction of 3M’s efforts to uncover the full extent of Truven and IBM’s misconduct,” alleged the claim.
At the centre of the litigation was 3M’s Grouper Plus System (GPS) software, which can be used for the secure processing of patient claims and other coded data in the cloud.
In 2007, 3M entered into two software licensing agreements with Medstat Group, a predecessor to Truven, granting limited licences to use 3M’s software.
“Over the course of a decade, Truven—through its self-reporting—led 3M to believe that it was a modest and even declining user of 3M’s GPS software. But, on information and belief, Truven had secretly moved 3M’s GPS software to the heart of its analytics operations,” added the suit.
According to 3M, Truvenhas provided customers with unauthorised access to the software, in addition to misusing it to process “vast amounts” of healthcare data for its customers.
At the time of filing, 3M said it had no choice but to bring its action to hold IBM accountable for Truven and IBM’s direct infringement of copyrights in the proprietary software.
In addition to seeking a permanent injunction, 3M asked the court for damages and an accounting of IBM’s books and records.
The notice of voluntary dismissal, which IBM filed at the US District Court for Southern District of New York on Tuesday, February 18, doesn’t disclose any details.
In a joint statement, IBM and 3M said: "Both 3M and IBM have agreed to resolve this dispute amicably and seek a negotiated settlement."
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