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ACCENTURE GLOBAL SERVICES GMBH and Accenture LLP, Plaintiffs, v. GUIDEWIRE SOFTWARE INC., Defendant

Patentees brought action against competitor, alleging infringement of patent which described a computer program for developing component-based software capable of performing tasks relating to insurance transactions, such as claims processing, and also claims for trade secret misappropriation, unfair competition and deceptive trade practices in violation of the Delaware Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA), common law unfair competition, and tortious interference with business relations. Competitor filed counterclaims for declaratory judgments of non-infringement, invalidity, and unenforceability, breach of contract, as well as claims of bad faith litigation as proscribed by the Lanham Act and the DPTA, and the common law of unfair competition. Competitor moved to dismiss patentees' state law claims and trade secret misappropriation claims, and patentees moved to dismiss or, in the alternative, to bifurcate and stay competitor's bad faith litigation counterclaims. Holdings: The District Court, Sue L. Robinson, J., held that: (1) patentees failed to allege that competitor obtained their trade secrets by improper means, as required to state a trade secret misappropriation claim under the Delaware Uniform Trade Secrets Act (DUTSA); (2) patentees failed to state a prima facie claim for tortious interference with a business relationship under Delaware law; (3) patentees did not sufficiently allege an unfair competition claim under the DTPA; (4) competitor failed to sufficiently allege Lanham Act unfair competition claim; (5) patentees' statements did not represent competitor's goods as having characteristics they did not have, disparage competitor's goods and business, or create likelihood of confusion or misunderstanding, as would violate the DTPA; and (6) competitor failed to state common law unfair competition claim. Motions granted.

Full post as published by The Trade Secrets Vault on January 04, 2009 (boomark / email).