On Monday, the lower court had said that Unacademy could not use PrepLadder—which helps students prepare for various entrance exams—until all proprietary information, know-how and technology belonging to Medical Joyworks had been removed from it to the satisfaction of the Sri Lankan firm and an independent auditor. The court had also said that Medical Joyworks could claim compensation after assessing the loss, if any.
But Justice AS Gadkari of the Bombay High Court stayed the ruling in an oral order on Monday.
Senior counsel Virag Tulzapurkar and advocate Hiren Kamod, who appeared for Unacademy, argued that the lower court’s order was “completely erroneous” since the civil judge had passed it without jurisdiction. “The civil judge failed to appreciate that the Bombay City Civil Court does not have jurisdiction to entertain suits or civil proceedings pertaining to intellectual property matters under the Bombay City Civil Court Act,” they argued.
Amit Vyas, partner at law firm Vertices Partners, who is appearing for the Sri Lankan startup along with advocate Abhinav Chandrachud, said that the order was stayed on jurisdictional grounds and not on merit. He refused to divulge any more details, saying the matter is subjudice. An Unacademy spokesperson did not immediately respond to queries seeking comment.
The court will hear the case next on October 20.
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Medical Joyworks, which offers digital products and solutions to the medical sector, earlier said it had provided comprehensive evidence to the city civil court, detailing how PrepLadder had been systematically copying and altering its proprietary information, expertise and technology, and presenting them as their own. Its petition named Sorting Hat Technologies, the parent company of Unacademy, and its investors including Blume Venture Advisors, Sequoia Capital India, SoftBank Vision Fund and Temasek Holdings.
Unacademy had
acquired PrepLadder last July in a $50-million cash-and-stocks deal. Its founders Deepanshu Goyal, Vitul Goyal and Sahil Goyal, and their 250-member team joined Unacademy.
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