Tenaris has won an intellectual property battle to stop OFS International (OFSi) manufacturing and selling products which were allegedly based on confidential information.
The Houston-headquartered firm, which provide oilfield services, was accused of stealing trade secrets from Tenaris’s subsidiary IPSCO Tubulars.
A federal judge has now issued an order banning OFSi from developing new connections using confidential information and forces it to return or destroy any stolen information in its possession.
United States Magistrate Judge, Christina Bryan signed the permanent injunction order earlier this week, which states that OFSi is “PERMANENTLY ENJOINED from manufacturing, marketing, selling, offering for sale, licensing or providing threading services” for the six connections referenced in the lawsuit.
Oil and gas supply company Tenaris, which has its UK headquarters in Aberdeen, acquired IPSCO in January.
It chose to continue the litigation against OFSi to “protect its acquired assets” and “defend against unfair competition”.
Luca Zanotti, Tenaris US president: “We are a company that innovates and invests heavily in the research and development of our quality products.
“We operate with high standards across the board and it’s imperative that we protect our technology, and the application of our know-how.”
Tenaris has invested around £300 million in research and development over the last five years, £46m of which came last year.
Phillip L. Sampson Jr., Bracewell LLP commercial litigation partner, who was not involved in the case said: “This really is a big deal. The remedies Tenaris obtained against the defendants are about as broad as you’ll see: permanent injunctive relief from a federal judge, the destruction of the misappropriated information, full audit rights, and even a monetary payment on top of all that equitable relief.
He added: “One of the more significant aspects of a settlement like this is the protection it provides to customers buying these types of products, since injunction orders like this help ensure that products in the market are legitimate and not tainted with misappropriated or stolen technology,” he added.”