TRADE SECRETS IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS LITIGATION
Counsel in two of the most important recent trade secrets decisions, Dean Pelletier, of McAndrews, Held and Malloy, of Chicago, counsel a 2012 Federal Circuit case in which the ITC enjoined import of products containing protected trade secrets, Glenn M. Strapp, of Bracewell and Guiliani, LLP, of Houston, TX, who wrote an article on the case, and Brian Riopelle, of McGuire Woods, Richmond, VA and Michael Songer, Cromwell and Moring, Washington, D.C., co-counsel in Dupont v. Kolon Industries, 871 F. Supp. 2nd 513 (E.D. Va. 2012) which had one of the largest verdicts ever in a trade secret case, Ernest Sasso, a trade secrets attorney from Washington Crossing, PA, led a discussion on trade secrets at the International Business Initiative. In Tian Rui v. ITC, Amstead Industries had trade secrets involving grip and wheel technology in steel railway wheels and 2 corporate partners in China. Former employees communicated the secrets to a competitor in China which used the technology in products it manufactured and sought to import into the U.S. The ITC enjoined the importation of products containing illegally-obtained trade secrets into the U.S. and the opinion covers misappropriation abroad. In the other case, DuPont manufactured Kevlar, a fiber used for body armor, bulletproof vests and tires. It is subject to export controls by U.S. An F.B.I. agent wore a wire and recorded conversations. 4 former employees stole secrets regarding the entire manufacturing process. Some pled the 5th Amendment. The case involved intentional destruction of documents and after a 5-day hearing the court ruled the jury may make an adverse inference. A transcript of a meeting between the employees and Chinese company officias was played to the jury. After a 7 week trial, the longest ever in the E.D. of Va., the jury found misappropriation of 149 trade secrets and awarded $920. million in damages The court ordered that defendant not produce any product containing kevlar for 20 years. The 4th Circuit stayed the injunction. Kolon did not post any bond on appeal. Attorneys fees are being sought.