CINCINNATI -- Pure Romance has settled a lawsuit with a former consultant the company had accused of stealing trade secrets to start her own competing business.
Letty Brown, of Virginia, violated the terms of her consultant agreement with Pure Romance by starting DearXO, which offered "many of the same products," according to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court earlier this month.
Under the terms of the settlement agreement, DearXO will completely cease business for a year, will pay $1,690 in profits to a sexual health nonprofit started by Pure Romance's founder, the Patty Brisben Foundation, and will return any materials with trade secrets to Pure Romance, according to court records.
The Cincinnati-based Pure Romance sells “adult intimacy products” through its website and contractors.
Brown ended her relationship with Pure Romance Dec. 31, 2016, and formed DearXO on Jan. 4, according to court records. Pure Romance had alleged that Brown used trade secrets she learned at Pure Romance to start the competing company.
"This is an important resolution for our company because it’s important for us to protect proprietary training and sales information," Pure Romance wrote in an emailed statement. "We value all of the efforts of our 30,000+ consultants around the world and work to protect their individual businesses as well as our corporate brand. To that end, all of our consultants sign agreements to ensure our mutual interests are protected."
