Incase, Inc. v. Timex Corp.

Incase (plaintiff) developed two watch-display packaging designs, the S-4 and S-5, for Timex (defendant) without ever asking Timex to keep the designs secret or marking any exchanged documents as confidential; Timex ordered S-4 units but never ordered any S-5 units, and instead, without telling Incase, contracted with a Philippine manufacturer to produce the S-5 design itself, which Incase discovered two years later when it saw Timex selling watches in that packaging. Incase sued for trade secret misappropriation among other claims, the jury found for Incase on all claims, but the district court granted Timex judgment as a matter of law on the trade secret claim specifically, and Incase appealed.