Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT;
PCX) announced today the filing of legal action against Amazon.com, and its
affiliates, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Drugstore.com, and others, for
violation of the Arkansas Trade Secrets Act. The Trade Secrets Act makes it
illegal for an individual, or a group of individuals, to use a company's trade
secrets for their personal advantage, or to the advantage of a competing
company.
William,
I did some research. I found that every state that I researched has a Trade Secrets Act. They are all worded the same. This act is not specific to Arkansa. There is no Federal Statute on the matter and I looked in 12 states and found every state had the same law. That is just like the wording of sales and use tax laws. The intention of that law is to prevent other people and groups from using Trade Secrets to their advantage. This law was enacted by the states to protect the companys that are based in the state in question.
This suit is not limited to Amazon.con as though only Amazon.con was the culprit. It is also aimed at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and specifically John Doer from what I can tell. I an inferring from this that Amazon.con obtained this information from prior Walmart employees and they did not just use this information for themselves. They shared it with Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers shared it with other online retail firms.
If this allegation is proven, which I suspect it will be, we have people with lots of money such as John Doer and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers using the work and technology of others for their own use. This is no different than taking video movies, copying them and selling them to others. It is the sames as making multiple copies of software. It is down right disgusting and would imply to me that Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers are a group of very dishonest people. This would only be the case if Walmart can prove their case.
It takes a short period of time to have an injunction granted, typically thirty days if it is a simple matter to prove. Damages take much longer to proved but this case is broken into two parts. The first and foremost is the injunction which could be in affect by November 19, 1998. Where will that leave Amazon.con if they cannot use their present distribution software and distribution centers for Christmas delivery?
I do not wish to hear how the proprietary technology of companys is often raided. You would be lowering yourself to the lack of ethics and standards of Amazon.con and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Tell me you are not like that. I want to believe you are not a believer in being dishonest for money.
I see dishonesty regularly. My stores average a major robbery during operating hours every few years. This excludes the small shoplift or grab and run. Please tell me that you would not do such a thing if you knew you could get away with it. Otherwise, you are not the person I thought you were.
Glenn |
