By Victoria Stilwell
Raytheon Co. (RTN) said it will continue to pursue claims
against two companies for damages resulting from theft of trade
secrets and misappropriation of intellectual property after the
U.S. Court of Appeals favorably reversed an August 2009 decision by
a federal district court in Texas.
The court overturned the district court's decision regarding
claims against Indigo Systems Corp. and Flir Systems Inc. (FLIR)
relating to infrared camera technology.
In 2009 Flir said Raytheon's claims were based on allegations
that Indigo hired former Raytheon employees to obtain knowledge of
the defense contractor's trade secrets about infrared camera
technology, according to the Associated Press.
The district court in its earlier ruling held that Raytheon
should have suspected wrongdoing and brought the lawsuit earlier,
thus barring the company's claims.
The appeals court held that Raytheon claimed it "reasonably"
relied on the two companies' assurances that safeguards were in
place to protect Raytheon's trade secrets. The court of appeals has
revived the case, saying the district court improperly resolved
genuine issues of material fact against Raytheon and intruded on
the province of a jury.
The case has been returned to the district court for further
proceedings.
Shares of Raytheon slipped 1.1% to $54.29 in recent trade, while
shares of Flir fell 1.8% to $20.32. Raytheon stock is up 24% in the
past 12 months, while Flir is down 22% in the same time period.
Write to Victoria Stilwell at Victoria.Stilwell@dowjones.com
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