Represented Takata in an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration against Thixomat related to patents directed to molding equipment.
Prior to the arbitration, Thixomat granted Takata a license to purchase a Thixomolding casting machine. Takata requested arbitration pursuant to the license agreement that it had not infringed Thixomat’s patents, that it had not misappropriated Thixomat’s trade secrets or other proprietary and confidential information, and that Thixomat be required to cease threatening its suppliers and customers and alleging that they had breached the license agreement. This arbitration involved resolution of issues of infringement and validity, trade secret protection, and contract interpretation under both U.S. and Japanese law, and a "seizure" procedure under Japanese law.
Takata succeeded in arguing before the Southern District of New York that the arbitration should proceed and not be stayed. After a hearing before a three-member ICC arbitration panel in New York and post-hearing briefs from the parties, and after nearly a year in deliberation, the arbitrators unanimously found all the matters in Takata’s favor under both US and Japanese law as applicable.