Con Kafataris v Cory Davis

In Con Kafataris v Cory Davis, the plaintiff sought to be declared an inventor of a device known as a 'Hydro-Blaster', to be compensated for the misuse of confidential information, and for an account of profits. The dispute was heard in the Federal Court of Australia. The plaintiff alleged that the defendant had used confidential information regarding the invention without permission and sought relief for this misuse. The defendant denied these claims and argued that the plaintiff had not made a material contribution to the final form of the invention and that the information was not confidential.

The court was required to determine whether the plaintiff was an inventor of the Hydro-Blaster, whether the defendant had misused confidential information, and the extent to which the information could be considered confidential. The court also needed to assess whether there was a fiduciary relationship between the parties and whether the plaintiff had made a material contribution to the final form of the invention.

The court found that the plaintiff had indeed made a material contribution to the final form of the Hydro-Blaster and that the information regarding the invention could be properly regarded as confidential. The court also determined that the parties were in a fiduciary relationship, which meant that the defendant had a duty to protect the plaintiff's interests. Consequently, the court held that the defendant had misused the confidential information and ordered him to compensate the plaintiff for this misuse. The court further ordered that the plaintiff be declared an inventor of the Hydro-Blaster and granted an account of profits to the plaintiff.