Chromatic Technologies Inc. (CTI) has announced that a Colorado court jury found that four former CTI employees misappropriated company trade secrets and business information in an attempt to copy the company’s proprietary technology. CTI is the inventor of the ink that turns cans a color when the beverage is cold.

The jury found beyond a reasonable doubt that SilverFox Innovations LLC of Colorado Springs, CO, USA and its “partners,” identified as Eric Cathie, John Davis, Jacob Melcher and Robert Ugianskis misappropriated CTI’s trade secrets and that their actions were attended by circumstances of fraud, malice or willful and wanton disregard of CTI’s rights.

The jury verdict was handed down on June 5, 2015 in the El Paso County District Court in Colorado Springs, Colorado. A Preliminary Injunction has been issued prohibiting further misappropriation of CTI’s trade secrets by the defendants.

“CTI has spent 21 years innovating with chemistry that helps brands alert, protect and surprise their customers,” says Lyle Small, CTI’s founder and president. “We are continuing to investigate the matter. We take our intellectual property very seriously and will protect it.”

CTI is the world’s largest manufacturer of thermochromic materials for packaging, and exports to 52 countries. CTI has also recently been awarded new patents for thermochromic ink for metal decoration and the company’s new Ice Writer, which provides children with a unique drawing device featuring a frozen pen and an erasable mat which can be colored and reused.