CA Inc v Independent Systems Integrators Pty Limited (No 2)

The case of CA Inc v Independent Systems Integrators Pty Limited (No 2) involves CA Inc, a technology company, and Independent Systems Integrators Pty Limited (ISI), an Australian company specialising in information technology services. The dispute centres around the ownership and use of 2BDB2, a software product developed by Macquarie Bank Limited and later acquired by ISI. CA Inc contests ISI's rights to use and market 2BDB2, which facilitates the migration of customers from a CA Datacom environment to a DB2 environment.

The court had to determine whether ISI had the legal right to use and market 2BDB2, and if CA Inc's claims of copyright infringement and breach of confidence were valid. This involved scrutinising the development history of 2BDB2, the contractual relationships between the parties, and the specific contributions of Mr. Peter Richards, who was instrumental in the creation and development of 2BDB2. The court also needed to consider the admissibility of various pieces of evidence presented by both parties, including affidavits and annexures.

In its decision, the court admitted certain evidence and rejected others, determining that Mr. Richards' contributions were significant but did not necessarily infringe upon CA Inc's intellectual property rights. The court concluded that ISI had the right to use and market 2BDB2 based on the existing evidence and contractual agreements. The court reserved the question of costs and stood the matter over for further directions, indicating that further debate would be resolved at a later date.

Pending further directions, the court ordered the parties to prepare short minutes of the order reflecting the court's reasons and to bring these to the next hearing. Costs were reserved, and the matter was set to continue on 25 August 2009.