TCS to set aside additional $70 million after US Supreme Court rejects appeal in DXC Trade Secrets Case

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) will set aside an additional $70 million after the US Supreme Court declined to review its appeal in a long-running trade secrets dispute involving DXC Technology (formerly Computer Sciences Corporation).

The development follows the US Supreme Court’s decision to reject TCS’s petition challenging a lower court ruling that upheld a $168 million damages award in favour of DXC in a case related to alleged misappropriation of proprietary life-insurance software.

With the latest provision, TCS’s total financial exposure in the matter has risen to around $220 million. The company said the additional charge will be recorded as a one-time exceptional expense in the first quarter of FY27.

The dispute dates back to a 2019 lawsuit filed by CSC, which alleged that TCS misused confidential software-related information to develop competing solutions after hiring employees associated with a client system. A jury in 2023 had initially recommended higher damages, which were later reduced by the court to $168 million, comprising compensatory and punitive components.

TCS had earlier maintained that the damages were based on “unjust enrichment” without proof of actual losses and had challenged the ruling through multiple legal stages, including the US Court of Appeals and finally the Supreme Court.

With the Supreme Court declining to intervene, the appellate court’s decision now stands, effectively bringing the long-running litigation closer to closure while requiring the company to account for the remaining financial liability in its upcoming results.

The case marks one of the significant international legal disputes for the Indian IT major, with implications for how global trade secret laws are applied in cross-border technology engagements.