Swedish court case regarding misappropriation of customer list

The employees resigned from Dekra and began working at Trygg immediately after their notice periods ended. Prior to leaving, the employees compiled a customer list, which was forwarded to Trygg. Trygg subsequently used the customer list to send marketing emails to the listed customers.

The Court concluded that the customer list constituted a trade secret under Section 2 of the Trade Secrets Act. The information was protected by login restrictions and one of the former employees of Dekra had signed a confidentiality agreement. The Court found that Dekra had demonstrated that the list originated from their internal systems and contained non-public information. The Court further rejected the counterargument that the information fell under general work experience. Evidence showed that a representative of Trygg had sent a draft list of potential customers to one of the Dekra employees, who responded with suggestions for additions. Before their employment at Dekra ended, the employees compiled and shared a refined customer list with Trygg. Only one company overlapped with the original draft, indicating that the final list was based on Dekra's internal data.

The Court emphasised that unauthorised use of trade secrets does not require intent or negligence. Trygg continued to make use of the list, despite repeated requests to return it, which constituted ongoing misappropriation. Under Section 9 of the Trade Secrets Act, a party that knowingly uses a misappropriated trade secret is generally liable to pay damages. The Court found that Trygg had acted in bad faith by using the list, knowing it had been compiled while the employees were still at Dekra. As a result, the Court awarded Dekra SEK 200,000 in general damages under Section 11 of the Trade Secrets Act. Additionally, the Court issued an injunction prohibiting Trygg from acquiring, disclosing, or utilising any information from the customer list, with a penalty of SEK 500,000 for each violation, pursuant to Section 12 of the Trade Secrets Act.

This ruling highlights the importance of safeguarding trade secrets during employee transitions and further reinforces that liability may arise without intent, and that courts may impose both general damages and penalty of a fine in cases of unauthorised use.