Carolyn Hoecker Luedtke Interviewed in IAM on Race Car Trade Secrets and the Importance of Contractual Protections to Safeguard Them
Munger, Tolles & Olson Partner Carolyn Hoecker Luedtke was interviewed in a recent article titled, “Lamborghini facing bumpy road ahead in steering wheel software trade secret suit,” published by IAM.
The article examines a new trade secret lawsuit against Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. and its American subsidiary brought by former partner, Prema Engineering. The lawsuit was filed in April 2024 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. The dispute centers around the alleged unauthorized use of Prema’s proprietary steering wheel software. The case is significant due to the complex nature of the technology involved, making it crucial for the court to understand the specifics of race car driving and the value of the disputed software. Plus, any trade secret involving popular industries such as race car driving will attract a lot of interest just for the fun of the subject matter if nothing else. In this new case, Prema claims Lamborghini secretly and unlawfully copied the software during joint testing events, subsequently utilizing it in a new partnership with Riley Motorsports.
“This case appears interesting because from the allegations, it sounds like Lamborghini legitimately had access to the trade secret Prema Engineering software and code during test drives of the hypercar at the COTA race in Austin, and it was during that period of access that Lamborghini allegedly downloaded the software,” Carolyn said. Prema alleges that downloading was unauthorized even though the access to the hypercar was authorized. Carolyn emphasized that to prosecute a trade secret claim it will be import for Prema to show it took adequate steps to protect the software from theft. Nothing in the complaint suggests Lamborghini signed a confidentiality agreement restricting what it could do with the steering wheel software. Assuming there is no confidentiality agreement, Lamborghini may argue that Prema Engineering failed to sufficiently safeguard its proprietary information.
“A key takeaway for the auto industry and all companies dealing with software is the importance of knowing who outside the company has access to company trade secret information and then making sure those people all have a contractual commitment to keep it confidential,” concluded Carolyn.
Read the full IAM article. (Subscription may be required)