Bloomberg and other news organizations are reporting today a potentially high-stakes international trade secrets investigation which may lead to litigation. The misappropriation of trade secrets relating to the battery for Renault SA’s electric-car projects (France) may also have compromised Japanese affiliate Nissan Motor Co.’s lithium-ion battery blueprints, as well as designs by LG Chem Ltd. (S. Korea) and Better Place (Calif. USA) according to press reports.
On the verge of commercializing all-electric vehicles, beginning with Nissan’s Leaf and competing with Chevrolet’s Volt, Renault revealed last week it had suspended three senior executives, with a decision on permanent sanctions to follow, after a five-month internal investigation. As it is to be expected, there are no direct official statements from the companies and executives involved.
Trade secret misappropriation in a technologically dynamic sector is a chronic problem which organizations must confront with sound policies and procedures. Trade secrets can last for as long as a company needs them, like the iconic 125-year-old Coca-Cola formula. Once disclosed, however, they cannot be retrieved and their commercial value vanishes, although civil litigation may stop further dissemination and recover economic damages. In this sense, they are the most fundamental and primitive form of intellectual property.
As an intellectual property consulting firm, IPmetrics has been instrumental in the appraisal and enforcement of for this type of property, as well as the rest of the spectrum, from Patents and Copyrights, to Trademarks and Rights of Publicity.