Trade Secret Expert Witness
Industrial Machinery, Automation and Manufacturing Processes
Trade secret disputes over machinery often start the same way: an engineer leaves for a competitor, a supplier begins selling a machine that looks very familiar, or a joint venture ends and both sides build the same equipment. The question is whether the accused design was taken or developed independently.
Dr. William S. Howard has developed and protected trade secrets in industrial machinery for dozens of companies, holds six US patents and three European patents, and has performed both forward and reverse engineering of machinery. He works equally for trade secret owners and for accused parties, and has trial and deposition experience in trade secret cases.
For Trade Secret Owners
Dr. Howard helps show what was taken and how it was used:Identifying and defining the trade secrets with engineering precision.
Comparing the accused machine, drawings, CAD models and control software with the owner's.
Tracing specific design features, dimensions, tolerances and parameters to the misappropriated information.
Showing whether the accused design could have been developed independently in the time available.
For Accused Parties
Dr. Howard evaluates whether the information was protectable and whether it was used:Whether the information was generally known in the industry, or readily ascertainable from a purchased machine, patents or published literature.
Whether the accused design was independently developed, based on design records and development timelines.
Whether similarities are dictated by function, industry standards or common engineering practice.
What He Compares
Machine designs and mechanisms.Engineering drawings and CAD models.
PLC and control software, HMI screens and motion profiles.
Manufacturing processes, recipes and machine settings.
Bills of materials and supplier specifications.
Engineering records and development timelines.
Reverse Engineering & Head Start
Courts often limit relief to the time a competitor would have needed to reverse engineer or independently develop the information. Having designed machinery and reverse engineered it himself, Dr. Howard can estimate how long that work would realistically take, and what it would have required.
Typical Disputes
Engineers or managers who leave for a competitor · Suppliers or contract manufacturers who build a copy of a customer's machine · Joint ventures and licensing arrangements that end · Reverse engineering of a purchased machine · Control software and process know-how taken to a new employer
For patent infringement, patent invalidity and PTAB matters, see the Patents page.
To discuss a trade secret case, call (770) 331-2283 or email WSHoward@StabilityTech.com.
