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Fla. simulator company wins injunction against Xenia firm

Ruling bars Barco Inc. from using or disclosing four ‘trade secrets’  belonging to Q4 Services.

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By Thomas Gnau, Staff Writer 8:01 PM Thursday, August 26, 2010

A Florida company is hailing a recent injunction against a Xenia company that makes components for flight simulators.

On Aug. 20, Judge Walter Rice in U.S. District Court in Dayton issued a 56-page preliminary injunction barring Barco Inc. from using or disclosing four “trade secrets belonging to Q4 Services LLC” related to the use of collimating film mirrors, according to Q4.

Orlando-based Q4 is in a legal fight with Barco over who originally designed what Q4 calls “trade secrets,” the company said in a release.

Barco’s Simulation Division is based in Xenia. The company’s “collimated display” flight simulators use a large mylar film mirror arrayed under a projection screen. The overall effect can give flight trainees a feeling of depth and movement. Trainees can have the feeling of landing an airplane on the surface of an aircraft carrier, for example.

Q4 contends that its proprietary secrets were developed in 2005 and 2006 for its SupraVue display products. The case started when Barco sued Q4 in April 2009, claiming that Q4 had stolen Barco’s work for the film mirror, according to Q4’s account of the case. Q4 then filed a counterclaim arguing that Barco has stolen Q4’s work.

An 11-day hearing in federal court in April and May resulted in a June temporary restraining order from the court prohibiting Barco from making a shipment of a display system to a customer, Q4 said.

Jeffrey Sharkey, a Dayton attorney for Q4, said the Aug. 20 preliminary injunction is under seal. But he made available the June order, saying Q4 regarded that ruling as a victory.

A Dayton attorney for Barco, James Dyer, noted that the preliminary injunction is temporary, and he said Barco will honor it, although the company “respectfully disagrees” with the ruling. Barco is exploring a possible appeal, and Dyer noted a trial is set for early next year.

“Barco did not steal any confidential information from anybody,” Dyer said.

Q4 calls itself the world’s largest supplier of Panasonic cathode ray tubes to the simulation market. The company has no Dayton-area employees or operations.

Last November, Barco principals told the Dayton Daily News the market potential is up to 100 simulators a year, with Barco’s own digital projectors being built in Belgium, and optics and mirrors built in Xenia. Dyer said the injunction will not affect those plans.

“They will honor the court’s order and move on,” Dyer said.

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