Jury’s Landmark 2023 Decision
After a three-week trial in late 2023, jurors sided overwhelmingly with InterMotive, awarding $13.2 million for trade secret misappropriation and about $350,000 for Lanham Act violations. Judge Berg later ruled that the $350,000 Lanham award was duplicative of Ford’s profits already wrapped into the $13 million figure.
Ford countered that the disputed module was already known in the industry and commercially available, arguing its programmable inputs could not be considered trade secrets. Judge Berg rejected that stance, stressing that under Michigan law, even a new combination of known elements can qualify as a protected trade secret.
Evidence of Confusion and Unfair Play
Judge Berg found that jurors had clear grounds to conclude Ford’s use of the “Upfitter Interface Module” name created real consumer confusion. Testimony from InterMotive’s founder confirmed that the company lost sales to Ford in 2023 because buyers mistakenly believed Ford’s product was InterMotive’s.
“The evidence strongly supports the jury’s conclusion that Ford’s use of the name created a likelihood of confusion,” Berg wrote.
