News and information on Royal Dutch Shell Plc.
Printed below is a Shell internal document from May 2006 which we assume was prepared by Shell in-house lawyers for the misinformation of Shell senior management. It deliberately paints a false picture, probably to protect Richard Wiseman, the former Shell Legal Director…
Click to continue reading “Royal Dutch Shell deceiving itself”
ARCHIVE ARTICLE: Hang on! I’ve got a new idea… …said Don Marketing when the agency sold Shell its idea for the Star Trek promotion, neatly persuading the oil giant to abandon its catalogue scheme promotions. Case study by Anne-Marie Crawford
Click to continue reading “Will Shell’s intergalactic experiment pay off?”
12 August 2008
Trawling the Internet seeking information about Court cases involving Shell, we stumbled across details of current litigation in the U.S. Courts against Shell International for alleged theft of Intellectual Property.
I personally know of several High Court Actions successfully brought against Shell on the same grounds, all by me. All resulted in media coverage.
Is Shell not concerned that it must be losing out from parties no longer willing to disclose ideas to the group because of its reputation as a serial poacher and predator of Intellectual Property?
A Texas Court of Appeals document dated 19 June 2007 reveals that Deep Water Slender Wells Ltd, James G. Wood and Preda Consultants Inc are suing Shell International Exploration & Production and its current or former employees, Jim Adam, Graham Brander and Mark Leonard.
http://www.14thcoa.courts.state.tx.us/opinions/HTMLopinion.asp?OpinionID=83523
Mark Leonard is President and Chief Executive of the Shell Deepwater division of Shell International.
The claim against Shell is based on alleged “misappropriation” (theft) of the plaintiffs’ alleged oilfield-technology trade secrets. The important subsidiary issue before the Court of Appeal related to legal jurisdiction i.e. whether the terms of a Consulting Agreement between the parties required litigation arising from any related dispute to be brought in the Netherlands. The terms of a related Confidentiality Agreement, which BP, Statoil and Elf exploration companies had signed, also came under consideration by the Court of Appeals in determining the jurisdiction issue.
We note many similarities with our own relationship with Shell. The Plaintiffs like us enjoyed a mutually beneficial business relationship that hit the rocks because of trickery and double dealing by a ruthless Shell management which has no respect whatsoever for the IP rights of smaller companies.
When we raised a rumpus about being cheated by Shell, the group issued press releases and even put posters on display at Shell HQ buildings making personal allegations against us, including that we were making false claims (only to settle the same “false” claims at a later date).
In the current litigation, Shell and Mark Leonard are accused of defaming James G Wood personally and interfering with his companies’ business relationships with third parties, including BP.
The following are extracts from the legal document:
“Although the Shell Parties knew that the opposite was true, Leonard and Shell International portrayed Wood in public as a flake, or worse, a dishonest person or criminal who was passing off Shell’s technology as his own.”
“Shell International committed fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, conversion of intellectual property, theft of trade secrets, and tortious interference with the Deep Water Parties’ business relationships and prospective business relationships.”
If James G Wood had seen a warning notice we circulated outside Shell HQ buildings 10 years ago, he and his companies might have been more cautious in their dealings with Shell management, which a decade later still happens to include some of the same dishonest hypocrites we had the misfortune to deal with, including David Pirret and Malcolm Brinded.
The following is the heading and first two paragraphs from the leaflet circulated in my fathers name (Alfred Donovan):
I caution all businesses contemplating trading with Shell UK Ltd to be on their guard. In my experience, they are masters of double talk and double-dealing. It has at times proved almost impossible to extract the truth from this company.
Bearing in mind that Shell has pirated a series of ideas that Don Marketing disclosed to them in confidence, I take the view that they should fly a “skull and crossbones” flag over Shell-Mex House as fair warning to all who enter.”
A picture displayed at the top of the leaflet graphically depicted Shell-Mex House flying a pirate’s flag from the roof. For some reason, Shell legal director Richard Wiseman and his scurvy crew were not amused.
Our warnings were dismissed by many Shell employees who were unaware that the same dishonest management was already at work behind the scenes laying the foundations for the oil reserves fraud. This was the scandal which brought an end to the Anglo Dutch partnership in its original form which had lasted for 100 years.
It is our understanding from the legal document that the James G. Wood case is continuing in the USA with issues being appealed and that an action against Shell is also being brought in the Netherlands.
For some unknown reason, all of the other U.S. court documents relating to this case appear to be sealed. We cannot access any of them even though we have authority to access and download court records using the U.S. Courts Pacer Service.
We hope that when the jurisdiction issue is resolved, Mr Wood is blessed with an unbiased trial Judge. Shell’s influence is insidious and far-reaching.
August 1999
The long-running and acrimonious dispute between Shell UK and sales promotion agency Don Marketing has ended following a statement released by both parties last month. The dispute centred on Don Marketing’s claim that Shell stole its idea for the Smart loyalty scheme. John Donovan, managing director of Don Marketing, took legal action against Shell claiming breach of contract and misuse of confidential information. Shell counter-sued him for breach of confidentiality.
Mr Donovan claims that between 1989 and 1992 he had a series of meetings with Shell where he outlined plans for a card-based, multibrand loyalty scheme. Two years after Mr Donovan’s last meeting with Shell where he was apparently assured of involvement if the scheme went ahead, Shell launched a trial of its Smart card without him.
In last month’s statement it was announced that Mr Donovan had abandoned his claim against Shell and his related libel proceedings, and had acknowledged that the claims were without foundation and should not have been brought. It said he had also withdrawn all allegations of impropriety made against Shell or its employees in connection with these proceedings and has agreed not to repeat them. For its part, Shell acknowledged the proceedings were brought in good faith.
Link to Original Article
http://www.shellnews.net/PDFs/ForecourtTraderAugust1999.pdf
STOP PRESS Column 28 July 1999
Shell has settled a law suit out of court with John Donovan, marketing director of sales promotion agency Don Marketing, after he abandoned his claim that Shell had stolen the idea for its Smart loyalty scheme from his agency (Marketing, June 10). The case began at the High Court on June 12. Shell and Donovan both refused to comment.
Original Article…
Shell claim is settled: Bury Free Press 9 July 1999
BURY FREE PRESS
Friday, July 9, 1999
Shell claim is settled
A DAVID and Goliath battle between a Bury St Edmunds businessman and oil giant Shell has ended in stalemate after both sides agreed an out-of-court settlement.
John Donovan, 52, was suing Shell claiming the company stole his ideas and turned them into its successful Smart Card loyalty scheme.
Shell denied the allegation and made a counter claim against Mr Donovan, alleging his company, Don Marketing, breached a confidentiality agreement.
On Tuesday, after days of battling it out in the HIgh Court, both sides agreed to the action being dismissed.
A joint statement issued afterwards said Mr Donovan bad abandoned his claim against Shell along with related libel proceedings.
“He acknowledged that these claims are without foundation and should not have been brought,” it said.
The statement added that Mr Donovan, who has lived in Bradfield Combust for 12 years, had withdrawn all allegations of impropriety against Shell or against its employees in connection with the proceedings and had agreed not to repeat them in any manner.
Shell said it acknowledged that the proceedings were brought in good faith and it also withdrew all allegations of impropriety.
Original Article
Stalemate for marketing firm’s ‘stolen’ idea claim: East Anglian Daily Times 7 July 1999
East Anglian Daily Times
Wednesday, July 7, 1999
Stalemate for marketing firm’s ‘stolen’ idea claim
STALEMATE
John Donovan, from Bradfield Combust, sued Shell over a promotion he said was his idea. But yesterday his claim, and the firm’s counter suit, were dropped
Photograph: ANDY ABBOTT
A DAVID and Goliath court battle between oil giant Shell and a promotions expert who claimed they “pinched” his idea and turned it into a highly successful Smart Loyal Scheme has ended in stalemate.
Shell were sued by John Donovan, 52, from Bradfield Combust, near Bury St Edmunds, who claimed they misused confidential information relating to the scheme and refused to credit him as its creator.
Meanwhile, Shell had counter-claimed against Mr Donovan’s marketing company, Don Marketing, alleging breach of a confidentiality agreement.
But after days of battling in London’s High Court, both sides have agreed to dismiss their actions.
A joint statement issued afterwards said Mr Donovan had abandoned his claim against Shell along with related libel proceedings.
“He acknowledged the claims are without foundation and should not have been brought,” said the statement.
It added that he had also withdrawn all allegations of impropriety against Shell or its employees in connection with the proceedings and had agreed not to repeat them in any manner.
Shell acknowledged the proceedings were brought in good faith and they also withdrew allegations of impropriety made in the course of the proceedings.
Prior to the settlement, Geoffrey Cox, for Mr Donovan, told Mr Justice Laddie Shell approached Mr Donovan in 1989 and asked him for ideas to jazz up its nagging Collect and Select free gift promotion.
In response Mr Donovan claimed he came up with a joint loyalty card scheme under which Shell would join forces with a select consortium of other major retailers so that customers could collect credit points and claim their free gifts far more quickly.
He claimed Shell took an option to develop the plan and in 1997 launched the Smart Loyalty Scheme which incorporated his ideas. However, he accused Shell of refusing to pay, even though the scheme was highly successful.
Mr Cox had accused Shell’s witnesses of appearing to have “corporate amnesia”, yet claimed Mr Donovan had a “trusted and successful” record with Shell.
Original Article:
Eastern Daily Times photo clip of John Donovan against Shell logo: July 1999
Article being added to our Online Archive
July-August 1999
After a bitter six year legal battle with Shell UK John Donovan has abandoned his claim against Shell UK. Donovan alleged that Shell stole his ideas for the Shell Smart loyalty scheme and initiated court proceedings in 1993.
Both parties issued a joint statement saying, “John Donovan has abandoned his claim against Shell in relation to the Shell’s Smart loyalty scheme. He has acknowledged that these claims are without foundation and should not have been brought.
“Mr Donovan has also withdrawn all allegations of impropriety made against Shell and its employees in connection with these proceedings and has agreed not to repeat them in any manner whatsoever.”
Both parties are bound by confidentiality clauses and have made no further comment on the dramatic turnaround just three days before the court hearing.
Speculation in the industry suggests that the sudden capitulation points to the possibility of a merger between Shell and another major petrol brand.
The oil industry is going through a period of major mergers with BP-Amoco-Mobil, Total-Fina and Esso-Mobil, all recent examples.
One ex-Shell employee said, “This has been an on-going saga for so long now, one could reasonably assume that the action had become a fly in the ointment for any potential deal. From the language of the statements it does seem that Shell has wanted to draw a line under this action and secure the future of Smart. This could now pave the way for a merger, and Texaco would be the likely candidate.”
The recent fluctuations in the oil price and the need to rationalise and cut costs across major markets has led oil giants into increasingly ambitious partnerships.
Currently Total/Fina is pursuing French giant Elf which itself has long been seeking a partner for its UK operation. Shell and Texaco are currently the only majors without partners. In the US, the two companies have been downstream partners for a number of years.
Shell’s proposed merger with Texaco was halted last year. Uncertainty over the long-term legal ownership of the Smart concept would certainly be a barrier to such a deal.
Link to Original Article
http://www.shellnews.net/PDFs/IncentiveTodayJulyAugust1999.pdf
ARTICLE BEING ADDED TO OUR ONLINE ARCHIVE
July 1999
SUFFOLK-BASED promotions agency Don Marketing faced multinational giant Shell UK in the High Court to argue its case of alleged breach of contract and misuse of confidential commercial information.
The dispute centres on Shell’s Smart multi-brand loyalty card, now operational in the UK and eight other countries. This, claims Don’s managing director John Donovan, is based on proposals he first put to Shell in 1989 – an allegation denied by Shell, which insists that Smart’s genesis was an inhouse project codenamed Onyx which began in autumn 1991.
Self-cast in the role of David to Shell’s Goliath, Donovan has successfully pursued earlier legal actions against Shell for infringement of his intellectual property; he also won an interim hearing against the oil giant for alleged libel.
Donovan and his father Alfred have become Shell shareholders and formed the Shell Corporate Conscience Pressure Group, highlighting not only their own case but those of other disenchanted Shell suppliers and franchisees.
He has also run ads in the marketing press warning Shell’s partners in the Smart scheme [among them Avis Rent A Car, British Gas and First Choice Holidays] that they too could face legal action.
Marketing, 10/6/99
…. Stop press: The case ended abruptly after both sides withdrew their respective claims. The terms of the settlement were unstated.
Link to Original Article…
http://www.shellnews.net/PDFs/DebriefJuly99.pdf
Man sues oil giant over ‘his idea’
Click to continue reading “BURY FREE PRESS: INTO BATTLE WITH SHELL”
: With all of this money spent on the CEP expansion, it has been built on an old electrical infrastructure. I guess no one is counting how many times you read about a "short" electrical outage at the plant. Tom Purves and the Motiva leadership know exactly why this is happening and how to fix it. They don't want to pay for it. They have been given the project and have turned it down at least twice. Meanwhile, we just keep having outages. Going ot be interesting when both refineries come down in the future.
: LondonLad: the lack of stories concerning Shell should be welcomed, if it implies that Shell are cleaning up their act, perhaps due in part to the efforts of the Donovans.
: US Observer, surely almost all (NOT all)contributors to this website have an axe to grind against Shell, particularly those who have a perception that they have been screwed by Shell in times gone by. As for Itchy Woman, she clearly has a femanistic / burn-the-bra approach to work in Shell. AND I would like to add that once again an old old article (from someone who has an axe to grind against Shell) has to be republished due to lack of news against Shell (I refer to Briggs 2009 article). COMMENT BY JOHN D. Would it not be fairer to say that everyone posting on this blog, including you, has an axe to grind. It is easy enough to look back over your contributions and reach a conclusion.
: It is easy to figure out who Witchy Woman is (LC). She has an "ax to grind" and is using this forum
: @uscitizen Voser is a competent and amicable chap. You claim Shell has delivered on its deliverables. Let me tell you everyone delivers on their deliverable.... But joking apart, look at the promises over the years and how well Shell has delivered on these promises. Their trackrecord is not very good over the last 15 years or so. They are a good money making machine. And sofar they have delivered on their constant or increasing dividend payments. Sometimes by increasing their debt but they have done it. A nice high oilprice has helped, don't you agree?? So my only observation was that his 'promise' to extend North Sea fields is quite opposite their activities in this area. And they have promised this before and done the opposite. It was a nice promise to build a new and expensive office in Aberdeen, more jobs for the UK and more activity and extending of production. Just check back what they have done. And predicting future productionlevels by Shell in general and Brinded in particular is nothing but a sick joke.
: To - an observer of Shell Shell has been delivering on its deliverables - why would you paint Voser as some one who is not??
: This was not a personal attack now was it Witchy one?? #133 Witchy woman on May 8th, 2011 at 1:42 pm Marvin Odum who probably has the worst safety record in Shell goes for a diversity vote and someone who has no safety experience to replace the VP of safety he just fired. Clear message where his priorities lie.
: Witchy Woman - you blase me for personal attacks???? That is so rich! I am defending people that are attacked if you had not noticed - and yes I do slam the folks who are throwing garbage out! Live with it!! Enjoy your retirement! Shell has a good retirement package in the US dont they??
: I feel the value of your posts is also minimal, just a complainer. PS - here is where you bash Denise - remember - or do we need to question your integrity the way folks question Shell leaders?? Witchy woman on Dec 7th, 2011 at 12:35 pm In GOM we thought that hurricane season was done. Why is Hurricane Denise causing so much damage then? Like all Hurricanes though they move on the professionals are left to pick up the pieces.
: According to the Independent article posted today the boss of Shell is telling us all not to get too emotional about fracking. Has he not seen the confirmation that fracking causes earthquakes? You have cited the Reuters article. There are others including coverage of a fracking earthquake in Blackpool England. I have to conclude that Voser is a fracking idiot.
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