By Blake Brittain
(Reuters) – Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co satisfied an Ohio federal choose on Friday to throw out a $64 million jury verdict over its alleged theft of commerce secrets and techniques associated to self-inflating tires.
U.S. District Choose Sara Lioi mentioned many of the commerce secrets and techniques that Czech firm Coda Improvement SRO accused Goodyear of stealing had been too imprecise to be legally protected.
Representatives for the businesses didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark Monday.
Coda sued Akron, Ohio-based Goodyear in 2015, and mentioned in an amended 2019 grievance that Goodyear copied Coda CEO Frantisek Hrabal’s know-how to maintain tires inflated with an inside tube, after discussing a possible collaboration in 2009 for Common Motors Co’s Chevy Volt.
A jury determined final 12 months that Goodyear misappropriated 5 of the 12 commerce secrets and techniques Coda accused it of misusing. It awarded Coda $2.8 million in compensatory damages and $61.2 million in punitive damages for Goodyear’s “willful and malicious” habits.
However Lioi mentioned Friday that 4 of the 5 secrets and techniques – associated to Coda’s design, improvement and placement of self-inflating tire pumps – weren’t particular sufficient to be thought of protectable commerce secrets and techniques.
Lioi mentioned Coda’s fifth alleged secret, associated to growing a useful self-inflating tire, was “no secret in any respect” as a result of the idea was not new in 2009.
The case is Coda Improvement SRO v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co, U.S. District Courtroom for the Northern District of Ohio, No. 5:15-cv-01572.
(Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington)
