Ropes & Gray Team Successfully Opposes Preliminary Injunction for TransAct

A team of Ropes & Gray attorneys successfully opposed a request for preliminary injunction on behalf of TransAct Technologies Incorporated in a trade secret misappropriation case in the Court of Common Pleas in Lake County, Ohio. The preliminary injunction trial took place on August 2-3 and 7-8, 2012, in Painesville, Ohio. The court issued its decision in favor of TransAct on Nov. 8, 2012.

The case was brought by Avery Dennison Corporation, which sued TransAct for alleged misappropriation of trade secrets related to the design of the company’s food safety terminals. Avery Dennison’s complaint alleged that TransAct received confidential and trade secret information from a former Avery Dennison employee in violation of a confidentiality agreement between the parties. On the basis of these claims, Avery Dennison requested a preliminary injunction against TransAct on the manufacture and sale of its Ithaca® 9700 and 9800 Food Safety Terminals. The case was assigned to Judge Richard L. Collins Jr.

After a four-day evidentiary hearing, the court roundly denied Avery Dennison’s request for a preliminary injunction against TransAct. The court found that TransAct did not receive trade secret or confidential information from Avery Dennison or its former employee, and that the evidence instead demonstrated that TransAct designed its products by relying on its strong engineering team and review of competitive products.