Walmart Ordered to Pay $222M in Trade Secrets Case

A federal jury in Arkansas ordered Walmart to pay over $222 million to Zest Labs after finding that Walmart willfully and maliciously stole trade secrets related to food preservation technology. Zest Labs claimed it shared its Zest Fresh technology with Walmart under a non-disclosure agreement from 2014 to 2017, after which Walmart allegedly used this proprietary information to develop its own produce shelf-life tracking system, Eden, and filed a secret patent. The jury awarded $72.7 million in compensatory and $150 million in punitive damages, making it one of the largest trade-secret awards in Arkansas history. Walmart has denied wrongdoing, insisting it developed its technology independently and criticizing Zest's conduct during the legal proceedings, and has vowed to appeal. Zest Labs and its supporters have called the verdict a major victory for small businesses facing exploitation by large corporations. The case underscores ongoing disputes over intellectual property rights and innovation between major retailers and technology startups.