Trade Secrets and Pizza (ECF Log In required)

In Papa John's International, Inc. v. Specktackular Pizza, Inc., WL 3132337 (W.D.Ky. Nov. 21 2005), the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky ruled against a franchisee of pizza restaurant system Papa John's. The defendant restaurant continued to operate using Papa John's trademarks and trade secrets after its franchise agreement was terminated in connection with a cooperative advertising dispute. The court ruled that Papa John's was entitled to an injunction shutting down the restaurants even though it had improperly established the advertising cooperative.

The court was not specific regarding the trade secrets embodied in Papa John's "proprietary system for the retail sale of pizza," but they appear to have included "manuals, policy and procedure statements, instructions and other materials relating to operating the . . . restaurants, including Papa John's proprietary software."