Sarine Sues Rose Gems for Alleged Fraud

RAPAPORT... Sarine Technologies has filed a lawsuit against Indianmanufacturer Rose Gems, alleging breach of contract and fraud, thediamond-technology company said Sunday. The suit, which also alleges copyright infringement, relatesto activities Sarine initially reported last month. By illegally hacking intoand manipulating Sarine's Galaxy inclusion-mapping system, Rose Gemsdeliberately underreported the weight of the rough stones it scanned in orderto underpay for use of the technology, Sarine said. "The Sarine Group will continue to pursue any party thatattempts to violate our intellectual property or to abuse our systems," CEODavid Block said in a statement. "We have adopted a zero-tolerance approach tounlawful use of our technologies, and will continue to invest every resourcenecessary to bring the full brunt of the law, as well as other channels, toenforce Sarine's rights." Sarine's subsidiary, Galatea, first noticed there was aproblem when an internal audit showed a long-term discrepancy between theweight of the stones being processed in the system and those Surat-based RoseGems was reporting, Sarine said. "Piracy in India is indeed a broad concern, which we've beendealing with for many years," Block told Rapaport News. "To this end, wehave built a strategic plan, which we've been executing for the past year withvery good results." The plan includes developing advanced systems to help Sarinemonitor the market's activity, enabling it to identify when different playersact in illegal ways. The Israel-based company is also cooperating with globalleaders in the industry to form a group against illegal activities.Additionally, it has increased legal pressure against parties acting against it,and is taking a no-compromise approach to such behaviour, Block added. Sarine is seeking a permanent injunction preventing RoseGems from using its software pending the outcome of the case, as well as financial damages of more than$750,000. It also wants the court to require Rose Gems to turn over its full accounts to the court or an independent expert for review.Rose Gems did not respond to Rapaport News' requestsfor comment.