In a verdict released on Wednesday, a Delaware jury determined that Vector Flow Inc. deliberately infringed upon the data security patent of its competitor, HID Global Corp., and improperly utilized two of HID Global’s trade secrets. The jury awarded HID Global a total of $45 million for both claims. The trial, which commenced on January 16, unfolded in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, with the jury finding that Vector Flow, along with its president, vice president, and engineering vice president, willfully misappropriated the two trade secrets.
Vector Flow is now obligated to pay $19.9 million, while Ajay Jain (President and CEO), Vik Ghai (Vice President and CTO), and Sean Sharma (Vice President of Engineering) will individually contribute $7.5 million, $7.5 million, and $4 million, respectively, resulting in a total of $38.9 million for the trade secret misappropriation claims. Additionally, the jury determined that Vector Flow must pay an extra $6.1 million in lost profits for patent infringement.
HID Global initially filed intellectual property claims against Vector Flow in December 2021, alleging that Jain, Ghai, and Sharma accessed HID Global’s trade secrets during the acquisition of their former company, Quantam Secure Inc. The accused individuals then utilized this information, including HID Global’s risk analytics feature and source code, to establish Vector Flow, a direct competitor to HID Global.
Furthermore, HID Global accused Vector Flow of infringing on a patent designed to enhance physical security operations by integrating data from various systems, processing it, and utilizing it to enforce security policies, control access, and generate actionable events.
The ongoing dispute between the two companies extends to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, where Vector Flow’s inter partes review challenge to HID Global’s patent was initially denied. Despite subsequent orders to reconsider, the PTAB upheld its decision, stating that Vector Flow was unlikely to prove the invalidity of HID Global’s claims.
The patent at the center of the lawsuit is U.S. Patent No. 8,234,704.
HID Global is represented by Jack B. Blumenfeld, Jennifer Ying, and others from Morris Nichols Arsht & Tunnell LLP, as well as Scott D. Sherwin and additional counsel from Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP.
Vector Flow is represented by Adam S. Gershenson, Heidi Keefe, and others from Cooley LLP, along with Kelly E. Farnan and Nicole K. Pedi of Richards Layton & Finger PA.
The case is HID Global Corp. v. Vector Flow Inc., case number 1:21-cv-01769, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware.
