Illinois Tool Works Loses Trade Spat Over Food-Service Equipment

Illinois Tool Works and its Vesta Global and Vulcan units were rebuffed in their effort to block imports of rival food-service equipment that they claimed were built using stolen trade secrets.

• The International Trade Commission terminated the case with a finding of no violation, according to a notice posted on the agency’s website
• Vesta claimed that former employees in China stole technical trade secrets and customer and pricing information to undercut sales for gas-burning equipment including convection ovens, stoves and griddles
• A trade judge in June had found that while some secrets were stolen, there was “no substantial injury to ...