The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently held that if a plaintiff in a trade secret dispute has patents that possibly relate to the asserted trade secret then it is the defendant’s burden to demonstrate that the patent covers the same subject matter as, and therefore discloses, the trade secret. See Wellogix Inc. v. Accenture L.L.P., No. 11-20816 (5th Cir. May 15, 2013). The defendant in the Wellogix case argued that it was the plaintiff’s duty to demonstrate that the patents did not cover the same subject matter as the trade secret, but the appeal court found no support for this argument and affirmed the jury’s verdict, which awarded the plaintiff $26 million in compensatory damages and an additional $18 million in punitive damages, supported by the record. Source: http://www.bna.com/44-million-misappropriation-n17179874130/

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