Commercial High Court issues enjoining orders against Fentons ex-employee

The Commercial High Court of Colombo, on an application made before it on 10 December, issued an enjoining order against Manutha Akuretiyaa, a former employee of Fentons Ltd, for engaging in unfair competition in terms of the Intellectual Property Act No. 36 of 2003.

Fentons Ltd, a subsidiary of HayleysPlc,is an engineering services and solutions provider in Sri Lanka primarily engaged in providing tailor-made Business to Business (B2B) solutions to its clients.

The Counsel appearing on behalf of Fentons Ltd. submitted that Akuretiya, who was an ex-employee of Fentons, had during the course of his employment at Fentons Ltd. obtained certain confidential and commercially sensitive business information belonging and was in the process of unlawfully making use of this information.

Furthermore, it was submitted to court that Akuretiyaa,who was acutely aware of Fentons’ pricing structure, in an attempt to poach a longstanding client of Fentons Ltd,had joined a competitor of Fentons and undercut the company in order to procure business from its client.

The plaintiff tendered to court in a sealed envelope a USB drive and documents which contained the confidential and commercially sensitive business information of Fentons Ltd. which the company claimed was misused by the defendant. High Court Judge Ruwan Fernando directed the Court Registrar to keep the information safely in custody. 

Upon hearing the submissions of Fentons’Counsel and being satisfied with the existence of the confidential, commercially sensitive business information,Judge Fernandogranted an enjoining order preventing Akuretiya from making use of confidential or commercially sensitive business information belonging to Fentons Ltd.

Fentons Ltd. was represented in court by President’s Counsel Dr. Harsha Cabral, who appeared with Nishan Premathiratne, Janith Fernando and Migara Cabral Attorneys at Law on the instructions of Julius and Creasy.

Pursuant to the notices of this action being served on the defendant, the matter is scheduled to be called on 18 December.