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. (Click on the link “alleged misappropriation of the plaintiffs alleged oilfield-technology trade secrets”. )
SHELL TRAWLING FOR BUSINESS IDEAS. MAKE SURE YOU DON’T GET CAUGHT IN THEIR NET.
By John Donovan
Shell operates a number of schemes such as Shell GameChanger and Shell Ideas360 encouraging people and businesses to disclose innovative ideas to the oil giant.
It has just kicked off its latest search for clean tech pioneers.
The obvious question arises. Can Shell be trusted not to steal ideas knowing, as it does, that most people would be frightened to take Shell on in any legal battle given its army of lawyers and unlimited financial resources.
Shell could not be trusted in the 1990’s. I successfully sued Shell UK Limited four times in the UK high courts for breach of confidence and breach of contract in regard to a series of ideas I had disclosed to Shell in strictest confidence. All were adopted without my consent A lawyer acting for Shell threatened in writing to make the litigation drawn out and difficult.