TechForward Claims Best Buy Misappropriated Its Trade Secrets

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune is reporting that a California company is accusing Best Buy Co. Inc. of stealing trade secrets for its new, much-ballyhooed buyback program introduced to the nation earlier this month by Justin Bieber and Ozzy Osbourne.

TechForward Inc. alleges in a lawsuit filed in federal court in California earlier this week that Best Buy officials turned to TechForward for help in designing the program but eventually took the California company's proprietary information "and then cast the company aside while using TechForward's trade secrets to implement its own buyback program."

"Best Buy looked to TechForward for a solution," the lawsuit states. "Unbeknownst to TechForward, however, Best Buy had no intention of paying for TechForward's help."

Best Buy had no comment on the lawsuit. We'll follow this one as it develops.