Cartier filed a lawsuit accusing Tiffany & Co. of stealing trade secrets

Cartier recently filed a lawsuit accusing its jeweller rival Tiffany & Co. of stealing trade secrets pertaining to its most exclusive products. According to the lawsuit that was filed in New York court, Tiffany & Co. hired Cartier’s former junior manager Megan Marino to work on its “high jewellery” collection that might cost up to $10 million for each piece.

Citing The Guardian, Cartier sees this move as Tiffany’ desperate bid to revive its own high jewellery unit after it was left in “disarray” following several departures, reflecting Tiffany’s “disturbing culture of misappropriating competitive information”.

The lawsuit seeks an injunction requiring that Tiffany return and not use stolen trade secrets, plus unspecified damages.

From the court paper, it seems like Tiffany put the blame on Marino as she was fired by the company after the issues were raised. However, Cartier assumes that the senior Tiffany executives have already got their hands on the trade secret information.

In response, a Tiffany spokeswoman said, “We deny the baseless allegation and will vigorously defend ourselves.” Meanwhile, in an affidavit accompanying the complaint, Marino said Tiffany was “more interested in hiring me as a source of information than as a High Jewellery manager”.

This is the second time Cartier took legal action against Tiffany for attempting to steal company secrets. Back in 2014, a former advertising executive was accused of trying to get her former assistant to join her at Tiffany and bring along restricted information.

This case added to the long-list of issues surrounding Tiffany & Co. after it was acquired by LVMH. Last month, the jewellery brand’s collaboration with Pharrel Williams was accused of plagiarising an antique accessory. 

Last August, Tiffany’s rebranding campaign sparked controversies as it decided to leave its classic and timeless concept by taking a more experimental and edgy approach.