$1 Billion Kevlar Trade Secrets Award Is Vacated

It was the second largest trade secrets award ever, writes Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe attorney Scott Lindlaw. The allegation was that a former DuPont employee funneled trade secrets about Kevlar, the material best known for its use in “bullet-proof vests,” to a company called Kolon. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison and DuPont was awarded $920 million for violating Virginia’s Uniform Trade Secrets Act. Now the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has sent the case back to district court in Virginia on the grounds that evidence that could unravel DuPont’s case had been improperly excluded.