$25 Million Jury Verdict in Texas Drill Bit Secrets Case

We start here with what the defendant said after the verdict:

“Varel wishes to express its sincere regret and apology to Baker Hughes for its use of a Baker Hughes roller-cone layout in 2004,’’ Varel said in a statement issued after the verdict was reached. “Varel acknowledges that its use of the document was wrong.’’

Well, a Texas jury found that Varel had, in fact, improperly used Baker Hughes' roller-cone layout trade secrets and it hit Varel pretty hard - $25 million. The jury found that Varel earned $5.9 million in profits from the trade secrets and avoided $1.5 million in research and development costs by copying the drill bit in 2004, according to the verdict posted today on the Houston court’s Web site. Jurors also awarded exemplary damages of $17.8 million, or triple the profit figure, after finding that Varel acted with malice.