FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
A Former Employee, Fyodor (“Ted”) Kapoustine, has been trolling DejaVuAI (DJV) online. His employment with the company was terminated more than a year ago for theft of trade secrets when he refused to return to DJV the source code that he developed as an employee of the company. As a result of his actions to damage the company, DJV sued him in Federal Court in Seattle to protect the company and its shareholders (DejaVuAI v. Kapustin, WD Wash.Case No. 2:25-cv-00915-JNW). DJV has also reported his actions to federal authorities. On September 17, 2025, the Federal Court issued a Preliminary Injunction for DJV and against the Former Employee, including specific orders prohibiting him from:
A. Contacting DJV customers
B. Disparaging DJV
C. Taking any action to interfere with DJV’s operations
D. Marketing and selling with respect DJV products and trade secrets.
Notwithstanding and in violation of the Court orders, the Former Employee continues to make unfounded claims against the company. These false claims, some of which are contradictory, include the following and were reviewed by the Court in issuing its orders:
- Claim: DJV is using stolen software. FALSE. DJV has a license to use all versions of its software. Older versions (commonly called “Photon”) were based on software that was licensed from the Former Employee on a perpetual, non-cancellable basis. These versions were upgraded by DejaVuAI , under the supervision of the Former Employee, and are the exclusive property of DejaVuAI. The Court considered this allegation of stolen software and found that DJV has used software legally and DejaVuAI has demonstrated likelihood of success on its claim that the Former Employee misappropriated DJV’s own software in violation of the Defend Trade Secrets Act (“DTSA”).
- Claim: DJV does not have the source code to its own software. FALSE. The Former Employee was fired for refusing to return the company’s code for Photon™ that he created as an employee of DJV. The Court found both that DJV has demonstrated likelihood of success on its claim of misappropriation, and also that the facts establish that any and all rights to the Photon software were licensed to DJV, with a “perpetual term” and “no right of termination”. The Former Employee’s rash and unsupported assertion that the code he developed was “buggy and outdated” is a misplaced effort to defame DJV in connection with his refusal to return the Photon™ source code belonging to DJV, which was the reason for his termination. It is also off base as DJV is supporting its customers transition from Photon™ to its new software, ClearSeek™. DJV’s new solution, ClearSeek™, is an independent product from Photon™ and, built from scratch, it does not rely on or include any code written by the Former Employee. Furthermore, in testing and deployment, ClearSeek™ next generation image matching demonstrates fit-for-purpose and appropriate accuracy, performance, stability, and scalability. Both ClearSeek™ and DJV’S newest product, Validator™, are garnering positive reviews in the marketplace.
- Claim: The Former Employee was never employed by DJV. FALSE. He was DJV’s CTO from September 2022 to February 2025. The Court considered this allegation and stated that, “[the Former Employee] signed an employment contract and PIIAA with DejaVuAI, and USCIS approved DejaVuAI as his petitioning employer.” The Court also stated the following: “The Court rejects the idea that [the Former Employee] did not update or improve the technology while he was employed—for nearly three years—as DejaVuAI’s CTO.”
- Claim: DJV is embezzling money from investors. FALSE. All money raised from investors has been used to pay employees and sales expense, mitigate the impact of the employee’s theft of trade secrets, and enforce its rights against the Former Employee in Federal Court, amongst other things.
- Claim: Employee claims to own 5 million DJV shares. FALSE. Former Employee failed to pay for his DJV shares. Under the Washington State Business Corporation Act, shares for which consideration is not received are not valid or effectively issued. DJV has informed the Former Employee accordingly.
- Claim: The Former Employee claims that DJV tried to hack into his personal servers. FALSE. This is a false and defamatory claim, made without reference to any purported evidence, in violation of the Injunction and Court order prohibiting him from disparaging DJV. DJV specifically denies the content of this malicious claim.
- Claim: The Former Employee claims that his signature was forged on various documents and license agreements. FALSE. The Court specifically considered these allegations and found them “unpersuasive”. In part regarding the validity of his O-1 visa, the Court pointed out that “Kapoustine signed an employment contract and PIIAA with DejaVuAI, and USCIS approved DejaVuAI as his petitioning employer.” Respecting his claim that “never signed the License Agreement, [and] suggest[ed] that DejaVuAI forged his signature,” the Court found that the Former Employee’s “contemporaneous acknowledgments contradict his current denial.”
DejaVuAI is committed to upholding high ethical and lawful standards in regards to the way the company conducts business and develops its products. From the very beginning, our values have been a driving force in shaping the company, our goals, and our relationships with our team and our partners. We stand by our promise of maintaining high standards, integrity, and responsible business practices that align with our purpose.