US chemical giant DuPont won US$919.9 million in damages from South Korea’s Kolon Industries on Wednesday, convincing a jury that Kolon had stolen its trade secrets, the companies said.
DuPont applauded the verdict, which stemmed from a dispute over its Kevlar fiber product, used in body armor worn by police officers and soldiers.
“Today’s jury decision is an enormous victory for global intellectual property protection and the millions of users of DuPont Kevlar technology and products,” DuPont vice president and general counsel Thomas Sager said in a statement.
“The size of this award is one of the largest in defense of business processes and technologies,” he said in the statement.
Kolon rejected the verdict and pledged to appeal, saying it had never sought proprietary information from DuPont and arguing that many of the “secrets” that it had allegedly stolen were actually public knowledge.
“Today’s verdict is the result of a multiyear campaign by DuPont aimed at forcing Kolon out of the aramid fiber market,” the South Korean conglomerate said in a statement.
“Although Kolon respects the decision rendered by the Eastern District of Virginia jury, it disagrees with the verdict and is confident that a fair and favorable decision will be reached on appeal,” it said.
DuPont filed its lawsuit against Kolon in early 2009.
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