Hilton Hotels Corporate Espionage and Trade Secrets Case

First, covered the Starwood Hotels v. Hilton Hotels trade secret war here: http://wombletradesecrets.blogspot.com/2009/04/starwood-hotels-v-hilton-hotels-trade.html The Wall Street Journal reports that on Thursday, Starwood Hotels, an amended application in the U.S. District Court, White Plains, NY, alleges that Hilton's misconduct to the highest levels of McLean, Va., chain management, including Chief Executive Officer, Christopher met submitted Nassetta and head of global development, Steven Goldman. The complaint states that the alleged theft was known and tolerated by at least five of the ten members of the Executive Committee's Hilton. A Hilton spokeswoman declined any comment. You can read the amended complaint here: http://www.usatoday.com/travel/hotels/starwoodfiling.pdf. The amended request comes amid ongoing negotiations for settlement talks between the two companies. These negotiations will be the fact that Starwood wants more complicated than monetary damages according to the complaint. It has asked the court to appoint a monitor to monitor Hilton's future conduct. He also says it wants a "Penalty Box" impose on Hilton that they would prohibit the development of their own luxury brand for a certain period after the complaint. "This case is to restore a level playing field for fair competition, not only significant financial damage," said Kenneth Siegel, Starwood's General Counsel. In February 2009, Hilton gave a stack of Starwood Starwood confidential documents, which contain, among other things, details on the development sites and marketing strategies. Hilton's General Counsel a letter to the speakers connected even that much of the material appeared "to neither sensitive nor confidential" and were again "in an abundance of caution." Thursday filing alleges the first time that Mr. Nassetta knowledge of documents relating to the three months before it began again in Hilton Starwood. In November 2008, Mr. Nassetta told that Starwood proprietary documents on Hilton's computer servers have been marketed and have been used to develop Hilton's luxury and lifestyle brands, she says. In this month introduced Hilton advised to investigate the matter which resulted in her return documents Starwood, according to people familiar with the situation. Starwood said Mr. Goldman, Hilton's chief development that uses Amar Lalvani, an official Starwood, as a "corporate spy" for Hilton. According to the complaint, while Mr. Lalvani Starwood Mr. Goldman provided with confidential information on hotel developers, including one at the opening of a W branded hotel interested in Thailand. Mr. Lalvani was later hired by Hilton. "] Here is an interesting [developers," Mr. Lalvani by e-mail, according demAnmeldung. "That will be fun!" respond to a lawyer for Mr. Lalvani not to requests for an opinion. The 86-page application contains an overview of e-mails between Hilton executives. In one, discusses an Executive Hiltonizing "confidential documents and Starwood" exchanges with the Group Exec ASAP. " The complaint says Hilton employees "scrubbed" of the Starwood brand from documents, they could freely be passed between their managers. Hilton at least 44 managers were sent, received, or copied to Starwood confidential documents, they say. This will be ugly before it dissolved. We will keep an eye on for you.