Best Buy Fined $27 Million for Stealing Trade Secrets
Shelly Palmer
A jury in California has determined that Best Buy must pay $22 million in damages for improper use of another company’s trade secrets, and another $5 million in punitive damages. In a lawsuit filed by start-up TechForward in the United States District Court for the Central District of California last year, the company alleged that Best Buy and two of its subsidiaries misappropriated its trade secrets related to the Guaranteed Buyback Program, which allows customers to pay for the right to exchange products toward future purchases at a set price. A jury decided on Wednesday that Best Buy is guilty of making illegal use of TechForward’s trade secrets after working for months with the company and then deciding to cancel the deal and implement its own buyback program.
