DuPont statement on injunction against Kolon Industries

DuPont issued the following statement after a ruling by the U.S. Federal Court in Richmond, Va., ordering Kolon Industries to stop producing and selling their Heracron aramid fiber:

“The injunction, coming on the heels of DuPont’s USD 920 million damages award from last September, reaffirms what was already clear: that Kolon Industries willfully and maliciously misappropriated DuPont’s proprietary Kevlar® technology,” said Thomas L. Sager, DuPont Senior Vice President and General Counsel. “The trial court ordered Kolon to not produce, market or sell any para-aramid fiber products, worldwide, for 20 years; it also permanently enjoined Kolon from using any of the trade secrets it stole from DuPont. Additionally, Kolon has until Oct. 1 to remove and return DuPont’s trade secrets or face contempt proceedings.

“In so ruling, the court found Kolon’s conduct to be ‘brazen,’ adding that ‘Kolon’s conduct shows a complete disregard for DuPont’s trade secret rights and a disregard for the law that protects such secrets.’ At Kolon, the judge held, misappropriation of DuPont’s trade secrets was ‘a matter of corporate policy.’ A full production injunction is warranted because ‘the Court has no confidence that Kolon could be relied upon to police its own activities.’” 

Thomas G. Powell, President of DuPont Protection Technologies, added, “We are pleased that the judge has enforced the protection of our Kevlar® trade secrets. DuPont has devoted more than 40 years and considerable expense to research and refine Kevlar® to make it the world’s most trusted aramid fiber. It is important not only to us but also to our customers that we are able to continue to innovate and invest in our business, our brands and our latest technologies, including our new facility to make Kevlar® near Charleston, S.C. The judge’s order sends a clear message to Kolon and others that they cannot benefit from the theft of our trade secrets.”