Trade Secret Acqusition case - Not Guilty (K&P Law Firm, Incheon Songdo South Korea)
Incheon Songdo K&P Law Firm
Attorney Taejin Kim
A client of attorney Taejin Kim was acquitted of the trade secret acqusition and use case in the Incheon District Court.
The issues are as follows:
Defendant X resigned from Company A and moved his job to Company B. Company A, and Company B are companies that operate in the same business. X was a computer programmer developing computer programs for machines manufactured by Company A when he left Company A. When X left the company, he did not return or delete the computer program he was building for Company A but took it with him. X has developed a computer program for Company B to use on the machines manufactured by Company B.
Company A sued X for having a computer program from Company A and that he used Company A's program to develop a computer program for Company B.
Attorney Kim argued:
·
X has already acquired
a computer program from Company A while working for Company A. The fact that X
left A and took it out is not legally treated as the acquisition of trade
secrets according to Supreme Court precedent.
·
The program files have
no economic value and are not kept secret and therefore do not constitute trade
secrets.
·
X has never used
Company A's program in Company B.
·
The programs that
Company A claims to have been hijacked are simple programs that an intermediate
programmer can produce in a matter of hours, so they are not economically
useful.
First, the acquisition of Company A's computer program was acquitted on the ground that Attorney Kim’s insistence was accepted.
The Korean Copyright Commission's examination results were conclusive proof of innocence. The Korean Copyright Commission concluded that the computer program created by Company B did not use a computer program designed by Company A . The part of the program that was allegedly stolen from Company A was a relatively simple program that an experienced programmer could use to create in 3 to 8 hours. Therefore, its economic value was also not recognized.
Ultimately, Attorney Kim's argument for obtaining and using trade secrets was accepted, and X was acquitted.
Please Visit our Website: www.kimnpark.com
