deCODE Files Suit to Defend Intellectual Property
Tuesday September 26, 11:05 am ET
REYKJAVIK, Iceland, Sept. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- deCODE genetics (Nasdaq: DCGN - News) today announced that it has filed legal proceedings against five former employees for misappropriation of deCODE trade secrets and intellectual property, and related breach of non-competition and non-solicitation provisions of employment agreements.
The five, including Hakon Hakonarson, formerly vice president of business development at deCODE, were recruited and at least four are currently employed by the Center for Applied Genomics (CAG), a business unit of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), which is also a defendant in the case. The suit, filed in US District Court in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, asserts, among other things, that these individuals, while still deCODE employees and with the knowledge of senior CHOP staff, copied or sent directly to CHOP deCODE proprietary methods, tools, business plans and research results owned by the company. Through analysis of its own computer systems, deCODE has gathered detailed evidence that the goal of these activities was to employ deCODE assets to further CAG's commercial mission. This was to generate significant revenue for CHOP by patenting research results and licensing these patents to biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.
deCODE believes it is in a strong position to secure its intellectual property and intends to do so. deCODE has already been granted temporary restraining orders aimed at preventing destruction of evidence in addition to that which the company believes defendants have already destroyed. The company is seeking a preliminary injunction to seek enforcement of its contractual rights and to prevent CAG from using or benefiting from deCODE proprietary systems or information. A hearing on the motion for a preliminary injunction is scheduled to begin in Philadelphia today, September 26 at 10am, at the US Courthouse located at 601 Market Street in downtown Philadelphia. The complaint and key findings of fact and law will be made available via the office of the clerk of the court at: paed.uscourts.gov, telephone (215) 597-7704, Fax (215) 597-6390. |
