Cartier Sues Tiffany For Stealing Trade Secrets
Cartier is suing Tiffany & Co. for stealing its high-end jewelry trade secrets, which the company allegedly learned by luring away an employee.
In a complaint filed with a state court in Manhattan, Cartier accused Tiffany of hiring an underqualified junior manager to learn about the company’s “high jewelry” pieces, which cost anywhere between $50,000 to $10 million a piece.
Cartier called Tiffany’s move to hire its employee a desperate bid to save its high-end jewelry business and noted that Tiffany has a “disturbing culture of misappropriating competitive information.”
While Tiffany fired the employee, Megan Marino, just five weeks after hiring her, the company is not out of the hot waters.
Cartier’s complaint against the LVMH-owned brand includes an accompanying affidavit from Marino in which she noted that Tiffany was more interested in hiring her as a source of information than as a high jewelry manager. In addition, Cartier alleged that one of its former executives who Tiffany hired broke their non-compete by working on the “Blue Book,” which is one of Tiffany’s high-end jewelry projects.
The company is seeking an injection that would prevent Tiffany from using its stolen trade secrets, in addition to unspecified damages, according to the Guardian.
Combined sales at Cartier, Buccellati and Van Cleef & Arpels, all Richemont brands, have increased by 38% since the pandemic.
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