HT-2021-000363 - [2025] EWHC 532 (TCC)

The experts agreed the technical facts. A customer used CPX on their mainframe to process their application load modules and sent a CPX package to Winsopia. The package contained an unscrubbed CSECT @@TRGLOC, a stub provided by IBM in the SCEELKED library with z/OS. Once identified, Winsopia deleted the original package and modified CPX to scrub that CSECT and similar ‘trampoline’ modules. A further scrub of the load modules revealed modules with third-party copyright in them. The customer then modified their CPX processing and re-sent the CPX output to Winsopia, who undertook further scrubbing and forwarded the same to LzLabs.

IBM relies on an internal LzLabs email sent by Mr Bond on 6 November 2020, noting that the @@TRGLOC section was not redacted by CPX. However, it is not clear that this particular third-party program was processed by Winsopia. An earlier internal LzLabs email sent by Mr Bowler on 22 October 2020 referred to confusion as to which version of the module was under consideration. When asked about this in cross-examination, Mr Bond stated that, although he did not have a clear recollection, he believed that the customer scrubbed the module, transferred it to the customer’s copy of the SDM and attempted to executed it. It is clear that the DR process was used but not clear that the inadequately scrubbed version of the load module was sent by Winsopia to LzLabs.

On the evidence available, IBM has not established this allegation.