Corporate Secret, Trademark and Patent Suit Filings Soared in U.K. in 2009

Lawsuits to shield corporate secrets more than quadrupled in London last year and trademark cases rose 20 percent as more companies seek to protect intellectual property during the economic slowdown.

Disputes over trade secrets at the High Court increased from 23 two years ago to 95 last year, while intellectual- property cases overall rose 37 percent, the U.K. Ministry of Justice said today. Patent cases rose 17 percent.

“Protecting IP becomes more, rather than less, important in a downturn,” said Karen Seward, a lawyer at Allen & Overy LLP in London, in an interview today. “Employees are increasingly leveraging their value in the marketplace by trying to take valuable information with them when they go to new jobs.”

Intellectual-property lawsuits doubled over the past five years to account for 16 percent of all cases, the ministry report said. Last year, cases included Diageo Plc’s lawsuit against grocer J Sainsbury Plc over the Pimm’s drink label and Pernod Ricard SA’s case against Absolute Radio to protect the Absolut vodka trademark.

Eighty percent of a company’s commercial value resides in intellectual property, requiring additional protection during economic declines, said Thayne Forbes, a director at the consulting firm Intangible Business in London.

“These latest statistics show that brand owners are more prepared than ever to take their battle all the way to the courts to protect the value sitting in their intangible assets,” Forbes said in a statement.