Custom-Publishing Exec Ordered to Pay $4.6M for Business Violations

Uhlig welcomed the damage award, emphasizing the critical value of intellectual property and electronic data in the Internet era. It also expressed hope that the size of the award, which includes punitive damages, would help deter misconduct in similar cases.

“We believe it is essential for the courts to recognize the seriousness of trade-secret misappropriation, regardless of the form it takes,” the company said in a statement. “The theft of critical business information in electronic form is often difficult to prove, but in economic terms it can be far more damaging and dangerous than the theft of physical property. Decades of work and millions of dollars in value can be stolen using digital devices no bigger than a pack of gum.”