After a protracted seven-year legal battle, South Africa’s Western Cape High Court has ruled in favour of Technical Systems, a leading global manufacturer of poultry and pig equipment. The court found former employee Christiaan Kurtz guilty of copyright infringement and unlawful competition in what is potentially one of the biggest copyright disputes in South Africa’s history.
Background of the case
Technical Systems, which supplies 40% to 50% of the global market with poultry equipment, including feed conveyors, initiated legal action against Kurtz after discovering he had stolen more than 34,000 electronic files.
These files included confidential drawings, production processes, and machinery designs. Kurtz allegedly transferred this intellectual property from his work-supplied computer to personal devices and used it to replicate Technical Systems’ production plant.
Kurtz, through his companies Feed Chain, CQuiptech, and CGC Industries, along with partners Carl Richter and Gary Colenbrander, reportedly replicated parts of Technical Systems’ equipment, engaging in 15 years of unlawful competition. Evidence and witness testimonies revealed that Kurtz even approached Technical Systems’ clients, offering lower prices.
Court ruling
The court is currently determining the exact damages Kurtz will be required to pay. Technical Systems estimates that his actions have cost the company approximately $9.9 million in profit before tax, potentially setting a record for copyright disputes in South Africa.
Judge Mark Sher emphasized that Technical Systems’ manufacturing processes were the result of over 20 years of refinement and significant investment, with no evidence suggesting Kurtz contributed to this development.
The ruling follows a similar case from 2014, where Technical Systems successfully prohibited Kurtz from replicating a specific machinery component. Despite the previous ruling, Kurtz continued to unlawfully compete with the company.
Since 2014, Technical Systems has spent over $2.2 million in legal fees and lost at least $4.95 million due to Kurtz’s actions. The company was also forced to lower its prices, resulting in an additional $6.6 million in losses.
The court has ordered the seizure of all documents, digital media, devices, and storage drives related to the case, as well as financial records to quantify the damages. Kurtz has also been ordered to pay all legal costs.
Following the judgment, Kühn, founder and director of Technical Systems, expressed relief stating, “Justice is served. After so many years of tension and uncertainty, my family and staff can now sit back and relax again. I am extremely grateful to our staff, witnesses, legal team, and all parties involved.”
The court’s judgment also follows previous litigation from 2020, where liability issues were separated from damages claims. The court found Kurtz’s actions from 2015 to 2016 to be clear violations of copyright and unfair competition.
“They cynically set about establishing a feed chain production plant, which replicated that of the plaintiff, utilizing the plaintiff’s confidential information and trade secrets and breaching its copyright. Thus, from about 2015 to 2016 onwards, the defendants have been competing unlawfully with the plaintiff in the production of the feed chain. Their conduct was brazen and egregious,” the court said.
In addition to the court’s judgment, there is an ongoing criminal investigation into Kurtz with the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) based on the judgment of this case.
