DuPont Settles Trade-Secrets Case Against Kolon Industries

DuPont Co. settled a long-running trade-secrets case against rival Kolon Industries Inc. involving fiber used to manufacture bulletproof vests.

Kolon agreed to pay DuPont $275 million in restitution as part of a settlement that included upfront and ongoing payments, officials for the companies said Thursday. Kolon also pleaded guilty to a federal charge of conspiracy to convert trade secrets and will pay an $85 million penalty, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The agreements end a six-year-old dispute that arose when DuPont sued Kolon in 2009, charging that the South Korean company acquired proprietary information about DuPont's Kevlar fiber from former DuPont employees. Kolon, which produces synthetic fibers such as nylon and polyester, had argued that at least some of the information DuPont sought to protect had long been in the public domain.

The restitution Kolon agreed to pay DuPont is far smaller than the $920 million in damages that a U.S. District Court in Richmond, Va., awarded DuPont in 2011. A federal appeals court overturned that ruling, which DuPont called one of the largest intellectual property damage awards, in April 2014.

Thursday's settlement pleased DuPont, according to Stacy Fox, senior vice president and general counsel for the Wilmington, Del., company. "The resolution of this litigation helps ensure the protection of our proprietary technology," she said.

"Kolon is pleased to have all their matters with DuPont and the government resolved," said Jeff Randall, a partner with Paul Hastings LLP and lead counsel for Kolon.

DuPont shares were slightly lower at $73.55 in Thursday afternoon trading.

Write to Jacob Bunge at [e-mail]

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