AST pursues unfair competition lawsuit for misusing trade secrets and company resources

Client(s) Schneider Electric Industries SAS

Jones Day represented AST Modular, S.L. (“AST”), a company that belonged to Schneider Electric Services International SRL, in an unfair competition lawsuit against two natural persons and a legal entity. These two individuals, who founded and managed AST, sold AST to Schneider Electric and committed to continue in the company as managers for a certain period of time. However, after the sale, and while they were still working for AST, they set up a company to compete with AST, taking and using all trade secrets and information regarding a business area of AST which was, at the time, under R&D. They also involved AST’s employees in the project. The unfair competition action involved claims for the exploitation of the claimant’s effort, hampering its activity, induction of employees to breach basic duties undertaken with the company, illegitimate use of trade secrets, and deceiving the market by using the company’s brand and resources.