Kepner-Tregoe, Inc. v. Carabio

Kepner-Tregoe, Inc. (K-T) (plaintiff) was a company that provided problem-solving training programs based on original materials created by K-T. Michael J. Carabio and Lawrence E. Padlo (defendants) were former employees of K-T who became familiar with K-T’s materials while employed. After Padlo left K-T, he formed Businesses Processes, Inc. (BPI) (defendant), a company that also provided problem-solving training programs using materials very similar to those of K-T, which Padlo compiled based partly on his personal notes related to K-T’s materials and his knowledge of K-T’s materials. A couple of the case studies in BPI’s materials were virtually identical to those used by K-T. Carabio subsequently joined BPI following his resignation from K-T. Due to the similarity of BPI’s materials to K-T’s materials, K-T sued BPI, Padlo, and Carabio for copyright infringement. K-T argued that BPI had directly copied a substantial amount of K-T’s materials based on the many similarities. BPI acknowledged that there were indeed many similarities between the companies’ materials but alleged that the similarities were due to the fact that the ideas taught by K-T could only be expressed in a limited number of ways, as evidenced by the similarities between K-T’s materials and those of other competitors. BPI alleged that K-T’s materials were therefore not copyrightable.