Court Upholds Green Project’s Suit against Seiko Epson

It has been reported that the U.S. District Court, District of Oregon, has upheld Green Project Inc.'s counter-suit against Seiko Epson, which is based on Green Project's claims of misappropriation of trade secrets, trespass and unfair competition. The court case stems from an alleged corporate espionage incident between the two companies.

Green Project is a two-year-old company that provides recycling services for inkjet cartridges. The original lawsuit, brought by Seiko Epson, one of the world's largest inkjet manufacturers, and Green Project's counter-suit, both are now continuing in the discovery phase.

The original lawsuit by Seiko Epson against Green Project claims patent infringement. Green Project strongly disputes that claim and has counter-sued seeking damages against Seiko Epson and one of its employees, Herbert W. Seitz, who is accused of surreptitiously gaining access to Green Project's premises and to its competitive business information by pretending to be a potential customer.

The order affirms the merit of the counter-suit filed by Green Project against Seiko Epson on July 27, 2009.

The ruling was enthusiastically received as an indicator of the eventual vindication of Green Project, according to Thomas Chan, managing partner of Chan Law Group and counsel to Green Project.

"The fact that Judge Brown (the judge in the case) declined Seiko Epson's motion to dismiss Green Project's counter-suit strongly indicates the validity of our claims against Seiko Epson, a Japanese corporate giant that chose to profit from the U.S. but also chose to be disdainful of protecting the environment from which it profits," Chan adds.