Optical fibre manufacturer Sterlite Technologies (STL) has been ordered by a US court to pay USD 96 million (approximately Rs 806 crore) in damages for infringing trade-related rights belonging to its American competitor, Prysmian Group.
The verdict follows a three-year legal battle that culminated on 9 August, when a South Carolina jury found STL's US arm Sterlite Technologies Inc. (STI) guilty of illegally acquiring Prysmian’s trade secrets.
Prysmian, the Italian-based optical fibre giant, accused STL of possessing thousands of pages of confidential documents that contained sensitive information about customers, new products and plans for manufacturing expansion. These documents were reportedly discovered at STL’s global headquarters in Pune, India.
The jury concluded that Sterlite had been unjustly enriched through this misappropriation, leading to the substantial damages awarded against the company.
In addition to the ruling against STL, the jury also imposed a USD 2,00,000 penalty on Stephen Szymanski, a former executive at Prysmian who joined Sterlite in 2020. Szymanski, who previously managed Prysmian’s optical fibre cable business in North America, was found to have been personally involved in the theft of trade secrets, further intensifying the legal repercussions for STL.
Despite the jury’s decision, STL has vowed to “aggressively” challenge the verdict. The company, led by Ankit Agarwal and with Vedanta holding a 45 per cent stake, has been facing financial difficulties, having reported a loss of Rs 82 crore in the first quarter of fiscal 2025 on a revenue of Rs 1,140 crore.
"We remain as excited and committed as ever to serve our customers in America, and we do not intend for this verdict to interrupt our plans to grow our U.S. presence. As a company, we uphold the highest standards of ethics and integrity. We believe the verdict is not supported by the testimony and evidence presented at the trial and intend to appeal and vigorously pursue all available post-trial remedies," said Ankit Agarwal, Managing Director, STL in a statement.
