First IP Lawsuit Over MCP Tests Legal Ground for Agentic AI Standards

Runlayer sued Rippling on July 28, 2026 in SDNY alleging trade secret theft; Rippling countersued on August 10 claiming three patent infringements. The case is the first known IP litigation involving MCP, an open standard for connecting AI agents to data systems, barely a year into commercial deployment. The outcome could shape how IP claims apply to products built on open agentic standards.