Softil Sues Tadiran Telecom for NIS 7.5 Million, Alleges Threats
Translated & summarized from Bizportal by baba
Softil is suing Tadiran Telecom for NIS 7.5 million, alleging a decade-long unauthorized use of its software products and copyright infringement. The lawsuit claims Tadiran's CEO threatened public shaming if Softil pursued its demands. Negotiations for a new license in 2025 revealed Tadiran's alleged use of Softil's components in cloud computing products, violating an expired 2001 license agreement. Tadiran has not yet filed a defense.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Softil is suing Tadiran Telecom for NIS 7.5 million over alleged decade-long unauthorized use of its software.
- Softil claims Tadiran's CEO threatened public shaming if the company pursued its demands.
- The lawsuit alleges copyright infringement and misappropriation of trade secrets dating back to 2001.
- Negotiations in 2025 revealed Tadiran's alleged use of Softil's components in cloud computing products.
- Softil states the original 15-year license agreement expired in 2016.
- Tadiran has not yet filed a defense to the lawsuit.
Softil, a global leader in internet-based communication technologies, has filed a lawsuit seeking NIS 7.5 million from Tadiran Telecom. Softil alleges that Tadiran has been using its products without a license for the past decade, constituting copyright infringement, misappropriation of trade secrets, negligence, unjust enrichment, and causing damages.
According to Softil, Tadiran's CEO, Stefan Cohen, allegedly threatened the company with public shaming if it pursued its demands. Softil provides development kits, software packages, and communication protocols that serve as building blocks for communication products, including IP telephony and advanced communication environments.
Softil claims it relies on customer trust, as it cannot effectively monitor all its hundreds of clients to ensure license compliance, royalty payments, or the need for new licenses. The dispute stems from a 2001 license agreement between Radvision (Softil's former business technology division, now controlled by Spirent Communications) and Tadiran Telecom. This agreement, unusually long for 15 years due to its post-dot-com bubble timing, granted a license for specific software packages for use only on Windows NT in an enterprise phone exchange and for physical end products.
A similar agreement was signed in 2002 for additional software. Softil states that Tadiran received maintenance and support services for some years, while foregoing them in others due to budget constraints. In 2025, Ofer Shuva from Tadiran approached Amir Engel, Softil's sales manager, to discuss a new license, initiating negotiations.
During these talks, Softil discovered, it claims, that Tadiran was using its components in advanced cloud computing products, a clear violation of the software license agreement and Softil's intellectual property rights. Softil noted that its sales manager, Amir, mistakenly believed the original license was for an unlimited period and was unaware it had expired years prior. Even under that mistaken assumption, Softil argues, Tadiran's use of the software in new product lines, different operating systems, cloud environments, and software-as-a-service models constituted a breach requiring a new or expanded license and back-payments.
Softil alleges Tadiran evaded addressing past violations, and despite Softil offering a discount for past usage, Tadiran refused, indicating an intention to continue using Softil's products unlawfully without a license. Softil then learned the license had expired in 2016. During a meeting with Tadiran's CEO and legal counsel to resolve the issue, Softil claims the CEO threatened to approach Softil's clients and engage in public shaming. The lawsuit was filed by attorneys Gil Wiakobsky and Eran Keichlermacher, and Tadiran has yet to file a defense.