Litigation Helps Define the Value of Trade Secrets

Sometimes reports on who is suing whom becomes just boring gossip. What we attempt in this blog is to focus on the valuation ramifications of developments in protecting IP, so when the value of stolen trade secrets is estimated, it is worthwhile to mention here.

A former Ford Motor Co. engineer who went to work for a Chinese competitor pled guilty Wednesday in federal court to two counts of stealing trade secrets, prosecutors said.The engineer reportedly copied more than 4,000 documents, worth more than $50 million to Ford, according to his plea agreement with prosecutors.

In July, a federal grand jury in Detroit accused two engineers of stealing documents worth roughly $40 million related to hybrid technology at General Motors Co.

In another case that estimated the valued of the loss, an Indiana scientist was accused of illegally transferring trade secrets to China and Germany about a unique organic pesticide group, secrets with an estimated value north of $300 million.