Law for Business 12th Edition by James Barnes,Terry Dworkin,Eric Richards

Exercise 1

Rolfe and Gary Christopher were hired by persons unknown to take aerial photographs of new construction at a plant that Du Pont was building to exploit a highly secret unpatented process for producing methanol. The process gave Du Pont a competitive advantage over other producers. All of the photographs were taken from public airspace and violated no governmental aviation standard. Further, the Christophers did not have any confidential relationship with Du Pont and did not violate any laws while taking the photographs. Du Pont sued the Christophers for misappropriation of its trade secrets. Are the Christophers liable for misappropriation of Du Pont's trade secret? Explain.