Thursday, March 08, 2007, 3/08/2007 07:47:00 AM

Trade Secrets and Ethanol

From the Des Moines Register, a story about a lawsuit by ethanol plant operator, Broin and Associates, against two former employees who left Broin in Iowa to go to work for a competitor's ethanol facility in Colorado.

The two defendants are a former operations manager and a former maintenance technician.

According to the complaint, the employees were privy to Broin licensed technology which included trade secrets, formulas, research data, processes, know-how, and specifications related to Broin and Associates' design and construction of the ethanol facility.

The two went to work for Sterling Ethanol in the last several months.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Iowa, seeks an injunction and other relief.

According to the Register, the suit itself is an indication of just how competitive the ethanol business is becoming.
back to top