Case 6:22-cv-00031-ADA Document 38-4 Filed 05/02/22 Page 1 of 7
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`Exhibit 3
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`Case 6:22-cv-00031-ADA Document 38-4 Filed 05/02/22 Page 2 of 7
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`UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS
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`SimpliVity Corporation,
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`v.
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`Springpath, Inc.,
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`Plaintiff,
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`Defendant.
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`C.A. No. 4:15-cv-13345-TSH
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`JURY TRIAL DEMANDED
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`SECOND AMENDED COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT
`(Pursuant to Agreement with Defendant to File Made January 29, 2016)
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`Plaintiff SimpliVity Corporation (“SimpliVity”) alleges against Defendant Springpath,
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`Inc. (“Springpath”) as follows:
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`1.
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`This is an action brought by SimpliVity, one of the fastest growing and innovative
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`companies in the data infrastructure industry, against Springpath, a competitor and recent startup
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`who is infringing upon SimpliVity’s patented technology to compete unfairly in the marketplace.
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`SimpliVity seeks a finding of patent infringement by Springpath, as well as relief from that
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`infringement.
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`JURISDICTION
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`2.
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`This action arises under the Patent Laws of the United States, 35 U.S.C. § 1, et seq. The
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`Court has subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1338(a).
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`3.
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`This Court has personal jurisdiction over Springpath at least because it sells and/or offers
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`to sell its infringing product nationwide, including in Massachusetts. Springpath’s Vice
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`President of Sales is located in the Boston, Massachusetts area. Springpath targets customers in
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`Case 6:22-cv-00031-ADA Document 38-4 Filed 05/02/22 Page 3 of 7
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`12.
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`SimpliVity has incorporated the teachings of the ’799 patent in its products. SimpliVity
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`sells its products, based on its foundational OmniStack Data Virtualization Platform, to small,
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`medium, and large for-profit and non-profit civilian and government entities all over the world.
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`13.
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`The market has responded enthusiastically to SimpliVity’s revolutionary technology.
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`SimpliVity’s unique, patented technology has enabled SimpliVity to become a leader in the
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`converged IT infrastructure and data center markets of the information technology and services
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`industry.
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`14.
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`SimpliVity’s products have achieved broad market acceptance due in large part to their
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`technical superiority
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`to competing offerings.
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` SimpliVity’s patented, hyperconverged
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`infrastructure helped SimpliVity become the first infrastructure company to reach a $1B
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`valuation in just 23 months.
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`15.
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`SimpliVity has 37 granted patents and 68 pending patent applications worldwide.
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`Springpath:
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`16.
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`Defendant Springpath, Inc. is a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business
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`located at 640 W. California Avenue, Suite 110, in Sunnyvale, California.
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`17.
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`Springpath was founded in 2012, several years after SimpliVity. Before changing its
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`name to “Springpath,” the company was called “Storvisor.”
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`18.
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`Springpath investigated SimpliVity’s technology at least as early as 2012. At the 2012
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`VMworld trade show, a man appeared at SimpliVity’s booth and asked a number of specific
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`engineering-related questions about SimpliVity’s technology. These inquiries raised suspicions
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`about the man’s identity and intentions.
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`19. When pressed by a SimpliVity employee to reveal his identity, the man stated that he
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`worked for VMware. When asked for a business card, the man provided a VMware card but
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`Case 6:22-cv-00031-ADA Document 38-4 Filed 05/02/22 Page 4 of 7
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`revealed that he no longer worked for that company. We now know that the man investigating
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`SimpliVity’s technology was Springpath founder Krishna Yadappanavar.
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`20. Mr. Yadappanavar never disclosed his connection to Springpath or its predecessor,
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`Storvisor.
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`21.
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`Following Springpath’s investigation of SimpliVity’s technology, Springpath released its
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`Data Platform product, which mimics SimpliVity’s patented technology.
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`22.
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`Springpath makes, uses, sells, and offers to sell infringing technology, including its Data
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`Platform, to develop and operate computer systems that store and retrieve various kinds of data
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`and converges functionalities of disparate products by leveraging SimpliVity’s patented file
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`system and method.
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`23.
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`Springpath sells the infringing software and provides customers instructions on how to
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`install
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`the
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`software
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`on
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`the
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`customers’
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`hardware.
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`
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`(See
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`Springpath.com,
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`http://www.springpathinc.com/resources.php (last visited January 28, 2016) (“Demo Series” of
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`videos demonstrating how to install and use the Data Platform product) last visited January 28,
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`2016.)
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`24.
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`In early 2015, Springpath cofounder Mallik Mahalingam described the technical details
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`of the Data Platform product to a group of network engineers and experts at an event called
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`“Tech Field Day.” In the presentation, Mr. Mahalingam described Data Platform’s file system.
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`Among other admissions, he admitted that Springpath’s file system tracks fingerprints:
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`We track fingerprint and content because our entire file system is
`based on fingerprints, right, because we do dedupe. So we built
`our entire
`file system
`in
`fingerprints. Springpath HALO
`available
`at
`Architecture
`Deep
`Dive,
`https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krmkywnz970 (lasted visited
`January 25, 2016).
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`Case 6:22-cv-00031-ADA Document 38-4 Filed 05/02/22 Page 5 of 7
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`25.
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`In his presentation, Mr. Mahaligham did not identify any non-infringing use of
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`Springpath’s Data Platform product. Indeed, there is no known use of Springpath’s Data
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`Platform product that does not infringe the ’799 patent through, for example, the product’s use of
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`fingerprints, objects, and object stores.
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`26.
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`In explaining Springpath’s Data Platform, Mr. Mahalingam described the product’s use
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`of objects and object stores and that use is confirmed by Springpath data sheets (e.g., Ex. B):
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`THE PATENT-IN-SUIT
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`27.
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`U.S. Patent No. 8,478,799 (“the ’799 patent”) entitled “Namespace File System
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`Accessing an Object Store,” was duly and legally issued to SimpliVity on July 2, 2013. A true
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`and correct copy of the ’799 patent is attached as Exhibit A.
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`28.
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`SimpliVity is the sole holder of all right, title, and interest in the ’799 patent, including all
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`rights to obtain equitable relief or damages for past or present infringement; all rights to prevent
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`others from making, having made, using, offering for sale, or selling products or services
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`covered by such patents; and all rights to enforce the ’799 patent with respect to Springpath.
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`29.
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`In the data storage industry, novel technologies are frequently patented. Companies such
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`as Springpath that are new to the market and that closely investigate their competitor’s products,
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`Case 6:22-cv-00031-ADA Document 38-4 Filed 05/02/22 Page 6 of 7
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`can readily search for the competitor’s published patent applications and issued patents. These
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`documents provide important technical information.
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`30.
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`The application that issued as the ’799 patent was published on January 27, 2011, and
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`would have been found through basic searching through sites like USPTO.gov. The ’799 patent
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`issued July 2, 2013, which means the issued patent would have been easily found through sites
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`like USPTO.gov and Google Patents.
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`31.
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`Given a reasonable opportunity for discovery, SimpliVity expects to find evidentiary
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`support that Springpath researched SimpliVity’s patents, including the ’799 patent, to learn about
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`SimpliVity’s technology. Such a finding would be consistent with Springpath’s other
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`investigations of SimpliVity technology. This patent research resulted in Springpath’s pre-suit
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`knowledge of SimpliVity’s ’799 patent.
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`32.
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`Claim 1 of the ’799 patent reads as follows:
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`A computer file system for naming and storing of files on one or more
`computer storage devices, the system comprising:
`a namespace file system accessing an object store, the system including a
`memory and a hardware processor in communication with the
`memory, the processor for executing program instructions for
`accessing the object store using object fingerprints, the object store
`holding files, data and metadata as objects, each object having a
`globally unique object fingerprint derived from the content of the
`object and used to access the object store, wherein:
`each file object comprising a mapping of object fingerprints for the data
`objects or metadata objects of the file and the file object having its
`own object fingerprint derived from the fingerprints of the objects in
`the file, and wherein the object store further includes:
`an inode map object comprising a mapping of file system inode numbers
`and object fingerprints enabling the inode numbers to stay constant
`while the object fingerprints change as the file content changes; and
`directory objects, each directory object comprising a mapping of inode
`numbers and file names;
`wherein each of the inode map object and directory object has its own
`object fingerprint derived from the content of the respective object.
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`Case 6:22-cv-00031-ADA Document 38-4 Filed 05/02/22 Page 7 of 7
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`February 5, 2016
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`Respectfully submitted,
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`/s/ Sarah J. Guske
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`Wayne Stacy (pro hac vice)
`Sarah J. Guske (pro hac vice)
`COOLEY LLP
`380 Interlocken Crescent, Suite 900
`Broomfield, CO 80021-8023
`(720)-566-4000
`wstacy@cooley.com
`sguske@cooley.com
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`
`Michael N. Sheetz (#548776)
`Adam Gershenson (#671296)
`COOLEY LLP
`500 Boylston Street
`Boston, MA 02116-3736
`(617) 937-2300
`msheetz@cooley.com
`agershenson@cooley.com
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`ATTORNEYS FOR PLAINTIFF SIMPLIVITY
`CORPORATION
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`-21-
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