Acer Trade Secrets Patent Suit Revived, Sent Back to State Court

Acer Inc. must face revived trade secrets claims, after the Federal Circuit Friday held the case had been wrongly removed to federal court.

Intellisoft Ltd.'s state law claims related to Acer’s alleged use of its trade secrets in a patent application didn’t necessarily raise issues under federal patent law, the Federal Circuit said.

Intellisoft shared trade secrets about computer power management technology with Acer under a non-disclosure agreement. It said Acer later applied for and received a patent that incorporated the trade secrets, and sued Acer in California state court for trade secret misappropriation and breaching the NDA.

Acer filed ...