The law firm Cheongchul (Lead attorneys: Baek Gi-hyeong, Lee Young-gyeong) successfully defended the client, a listed company producing medical devices including spinal implants, in an appeal court ruling that rejected all claims from the opposing party, which argued that the client had unlawfully used its ideas, thus violating the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act, leading to a claim for damages, prohibition, and destruction of the products.
Case Overview - Claims of Unauthorized Use of Ideas Following Termination of a Research and Development Agreement
The client entered into a joint research and development agreement with the opposing party for product development and proceeded with the prototype development and testing process. However, due to the opposing party’s breach of the agreement, it was no longer possible to continue joint development, and the client terminated the contract and started product development from scratch, creating a marketable product. However, the opposing party claimed that the newly developed product unlawfully used its ideas and filed a lawsuit seeking damages and the destruction of the produced products.
Cheongchul addressed this civil case by arguing,
that there were reasons for the opposing party’s breach of contract,
demonstrating through the principles of the Unfair Competition Prevention Act and specific factual materials that the opposing party’s claims did not correspond to the ‘idea’ described in the Unfair Competition Prevention Act,
and actively countering the opposing party’s claim of misappropriation of technical information under the Subcontract Act by analyzing the meaning of ‘technical information’ and the specific facts.
Accordingly, the court rejected all claims of the opposing party for damages, the destruction of products, and prohibiting production, based on Cheongchul's arguments. Through Cheongchul's representation, the listed client was able to prevent the occurrence of contingent liabilities and continue the production and sale of the relevant products.
When pursuing lawsuits for unfair competition, it is essential to prepare claims and responses with a specialized attorney, based on a thorough understanding of the principles of the Unfair Competition Prevention Act and detailed analysis of specific technical information and factual materials.
The law firm Cheongchul is composed of attorneys from major domestic law firms such as Kim & Chang, Yoojin Law, and Sejong, and includes attorneys appointed as technical protection experts by the Foundation for Cooperation Among Large, Medium, and Small Enterprises and Agriculture under the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.
While representing this civil case, the law firm Cheongchul executed supplementary measures for the protection of the client's trade secrets and ideas and managed criminal cases simultaneously, providing advice to conclude all disputes concerning the relevant facts under a unified strategy, resulting in significant successful outcomes.
The law firm Cheongchul promises to continue to strive for the best in the interests of its clients with the utmost professionalism.
