Penalty Kick Management Ltd. v. Coca Cola Co.
United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
318 F.3d 1284 (2003)
- Written by Whitney Kamerzel , JD
Facts
Penalty Kick Management Ltd. (PKM) (plaintiff) created drink labels called Magic Windows that revealed a label’s code using a colored filter after the drink was emptied. PKM and Coca Cola Co. (defendant) signed a nondisclosure agreement to keep the label process a secret, and Coca-Cola offered PKM $1 million and a per-label royalty to use the labels globally. While the negotiations were ongoing, Coca-Cola met with Steve Everett, a salesman with ITW-Autosleeve (ITW), a label printer in Argentina. Coca-Cola asked whether Everett could make a window label and showed Everett a mock-up of a bottle with printer paper on one side and colored paper on the other side. Without any instructions, Everett created a window label by determining the type of printing press, inks, colors, and production process needed. Everett considered the task simple everyday printing that did not require new technology, and he completed the label in three weeks. After Coca-Cola used the labels on its bottles, PKM sued Coca-Cola for trade-secret misappropriation. The district court granted summary judgment for Coca-Cola and held that although Magic Windows was a trade secret, Coca-Cola did not misappropriate it. PKM appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Tjoflat, J.)
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