98 First off, what was this case about? Michael Ng: This case grew out of an unconsummated M&A deal, namely, the proposed acquisition of our client, Propel Fuels, by the oil major Phillips 66. Propel was an early innovator in the retail sale of renewable fuels for the consumer vehicle market. It approached Phillips 66 about a potential deal that would allow deployment of Propel’s proven strategies across Phillips 66’s much larger network, and the companies engaged in 11 months of due diligence before Phillips 66 terminated the deal. The next business day, Phillips 66 told regulators it was getting into the business for the first time, and then quickly launched what has become a multibillion-dollar strategy. Daniel Zaheer: This is, unfortunately, the kind of story we hear about all the time. A larger company obtains confidential information developed by a smaller innovator, and then improperly uses that information to copy the business. Here, we were able to get justice for our clients after a long battle and difficult trial against a top law firm, and the case is still going. Are there lessons for Israeli companies? Michael Ng: Many Israeli companies are innovators, and many are looking to do deals with larger, more established incumbents in larger markets in the US, Asia or Europe. Those can be risky, especially when they are joint ventures, acquisitions, or other types of collaborations that require disclosing key confidential information. While caution is warranted, effective working relationships often require the free flow of information. So it’s impossible to keep innovation under lock and key. So Israeli companies should be careful to make sure they have NDAs and other legal protections in place. But those don’t necessarily keep deals from going bad—they just give the innovator options if that happens. Daniel Zaheer: And our case shows that when innovators stand up for themselves, they can win. One thing we really liked about this case is that we knew that the story our client had to tell would resonate with jurors. It’s human nature to be offended when those who put in the hard work are exploited, and it was great to give our clients their literal day in court. How can Israeli clients use the US legal system to help them? Michael Ng: Well, the US courts are not shy about adjudicating disputes, and for trade secret claims in particular they’ve said that US courts can hear
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