DuPont wins trade secrets lawsuit

LSRUNQI

DuPont wins trade secrets lawsuit
Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Wilmington, DE - DuPont won a civil lawsuit for $919.9 million in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Richmond, VA, against Kolon Industries, with the jury finding that Kolon stole trade secrets and confidential information regarding DuPont Kevlar aramid fiber. Kolon, a South Korea-based company, was found liable for misappropriation of trade secrets, and the jury found that its actions were willful and malicious. “Today’s jury decision is an enormous victory for global intellectual property protection and the millions of users of DuPont Kevlar technology and products,” said Thomas L. Sager, senior vice president and general counsel of DuPont. “The size of this award is one of the largest in defense of business processes and technologies. It also sends a message to potential thieves of intellectual property that DuPont will pursue all legal remedies to protect our significant investment in research and development and our proprietary information for the benefit of our shareholders and customers.” “Companies around the world are facing a significant challenge to protect trade secrets and intellectual property,” said Thomas G. Powell, president, DuPont Protection Technologies. “DuPont, as a market-driven science company, has devoted more than 40 years and considerable investment to researching and refining Kevlar to make it the world’s most trusted aramid fiber.” “We are very pleased the jury recognized and protected DuPont’s investment in Kevlar,” added Powell. DuPont will ask the trial judge to impose injunctive relief requiring Kolon to return DuPont’s proprietary information and to stop manufacturing and selling products made from that information. DuPont also expects to recover its attorney’s fees from Kolon. According to Sager, in 2007, DuPont became concerned about Kolon’s activities and notified the FBI, the Department of Justice and the Department of Commerce. DuPont understands that law enforcement’s investigation of Kolon is ongoing.