06.04.17
GERMANY: The Trade Court in Frankfurt decided in favor of Sabinsa Europe GmbH in a lawsuit against a German competitor for theft of proprietary customer lists, technical information and other data. The court found that a former Sabinsa employee had access to and stole Sabinsa Europe’s data and used that information for the personal benefit of himself and the Germany-based competitor.
The court has ordered the competitor to cease and desist from using business and trade secrets belonging to Sabinsa; specifically lists of clients, price information and analysis certificates provided to the competitor by the former employee of Sabinsa. The firm must destroy the information in its possession, and never again hire a Sabinsa employee with the intention of gaining access to trade secrets. Should that happen again, the defendant has to pay a fine or face imprisonment of up to six months.
In addition, the competitor must pay Sabinsa compensation for damages, as well as court costs.
The court has ordered the competitor to cease and desist from using business and trade secrets belonging to Sabinsa; specifically lists of clients, price information and analysis certificates provided to the competitor by the former employee of Sabinsa. The firm must destroy the information in its possession, and never again hire a Sabinsa employee with the intention of gaining access to trade secrets. Should that happen again, the defendant has to pay a fine or face imprisonment of up to six months.
In addition, the competitor must pay Sabinsa compensation for damages, as well as court costs.