Finnegan defends Xylem in trade secret allegation involving marine toilet deodorizers

Finnegan defended Xylem in a case brought by an individual, Ron Roberts, for alleged misappropriation of an idea for a deodorizing device for marine toilets on boats.  Roberts and Xylem had executed a Non-Disclosure Agreement (“NDA”) that specifically excluded from its coverage information in the “public domain” at the time of its disclosure.  Roberts then showed Xylem his deodorizing device, and the parties engaged in licensing negotiations for some time.  Xylem eventually signed the license agreement, but Roberts never executed the agreement, and instead filed lawsuit against Xylem, claiming the license his UK lawyer negotiated on his behalf was unfair.  Roberts alleged idea misappropriation, breach of the NDA, and unjust enrichment.  Finnegan asserted that far from a trade secret, Roberts’ device was in the “public domain” at the time of its disclosure to Xylem.  Finnegan retained a prominent marine sanitation expert, known as the “Head Mistress” in the industry, who has for many years been a leading voice in the field of marine toilets/boat sanitation.  Working with the expert, Finnegan identified third-party devices for deodorizing toilets to challenge Roberts’ claim that his device/technology was novel. From the outset, Finnegan also focused on minimizing potential damages in the case.  Roberts claimed that he was entitled to a substantial reasonable royalty on future sales of his marine toilet devices.  With the help of its marine sanitation expert and Xylem’s engineers, Finnegan located various third-party devices for sanitizing toilets on boats and reached out to their makers to show that the devices were not big sellers and that Roberts’ device likewise did not have the sales potential Roberts alleged.  The case eventually settled to the client’s satisfaction.