Speck v. North Carolina Dairy Foundation, Inc.

MITCHELL, Justice.

The underlying issue controlling the result in this case is whether the plaintiffs acquired any interest in a secret scientific process at the time they discovered it while employed by the defendant North Carolina State University. We hold that they did not. Accordingly, we reverse the decision of the Court of Appeals.

The plaintiffs brought this action seeking to impose a constructive trust upon royalties received by the defendant North Carolina Dairy Foundation (hereinafter “Foundation”) for its licensing of the use, under the trademark “Sweet Acidophilus,” of a secret…