Background
Rivendell was a reload wholesaler actively involved in the lumber industry. Before Rivendell went out of business, it frequently purchased lumber from Canadian mills and transported it to lumberyards it leased. Much like Rivendell, Georgia-Pacific was also a wholesaler and a supplier of lumber. Timothy L. Cornwell was an employee of Rivendell Forest Products that supervised their "Quote Screen" customer price quoting system (something unique to their industry). The "Quote Screen" instantaneously quoted customers on lumber and freight prices, thereby giving Rivendell a strong market advantage. Rivendell claimed that the system was responsible for two to three times more sales as a result of its efficiency. Rivendell argued that its software constituted a trade secret. Cornwell left Rivendell in 1990 and was hired by the defendant, Georgia-Pacific. He signed a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) to become a part of Georgia-Pacific Corp., where he was to oversee their marketing department. Speculations of misappropriation of trade secrets arose when a computer system of customer relations—very similar to that of Rivendell—was developed at Georgia-Pacific. The "Quick Quote" screen at Georgia-Pacific highly resembled Rivendell's "Quote Screen".U.S. District Court Case (1993)
Trade secret misappropriation
The plaintiff, Rivendell Forest Products, alleged that the defendant, Georgia-Pacific Corporation, misappropriated its trade secrets. The district court was not persuaded by Rivendell's arguments, writing, "Much of the confusion in Rivendell's arguments stems from the fact that when it argues for the existence of a trade secret, it points generally to its software, secure in the knowledge that some part of that software, whether or not appropriated by Georgia-Pacific, contains a trade secret. By contrast, when Rivendell argues that Georgia-Pacific has used its trade secrets, unable to claim the software has been copied or otherwise compromised, Rivendell focuses broadly on the concepts and ideas contained in the software".''Rivendell Forest Products. v. Georgia-Pacific Corp.''Appellate Decision (1994)
District Court Decision Reversed
On June 30, 1994, the Appellate Court reversed the 1993 decision on the grounds that Rivendell's trade secret could consist of a combination of elements in the public domain. They state that the "unified process, design and operation of which, in unique combination", can in fact afford, "a competitive advantage and is a protectable secret". The secret combination of public domain elements had in fact given Rivendell a valuable competitive advantage. For these reasons, the Court of Appeals held that Rivendell had demonstrated that its software was protectable as a trade secret, but the court remandEffect
These cases represent the complex issues that may arise in asserting a trade secret in software that merely uniquely combines public domain elements. The Tenth Circuit's opinion is cited for the proposition that a trade secret may include a combination of elements which are generally known to the public.U.S. Attorneys' BulletinReferences
See also
* Uniform Trade Secrets Act *Mark A. Lemley, Peter S. Menell, Robert P. Merges, and Pamela Samuelson. Software And Internet Law. (New York: Aspen, 3d ed. 2006). {{DEFAULTSORT:Rivendell Forest Prods. V. Georgia-Pacific Corp. United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit cases 1994 in United States case law Trade secret case law Georgia-Pacific United States intellectual property case law