A U.S. court has ordered Korean textile manufacturer Kolon to erase from its computer network all documents related to DuPont's trademarked Kevlar fabric. Judge Robert Payne at the Court for the Eastern District of Virginia last Thursday ordered Kolon to immediately delete computer files containing DuPont trade secrets and return the relevant documents to the American firm by Oct. 1.

He also ordered court-appointed experts to check Kolon's computers and network to confirm it has complied with the order.

Meanwhile, a U.S. appeals court accepted Kolon's request to suspend an injunction halting its worldwide production and sales of the Kevlar-like fiber, which the judge had earlier ruled infringed DuPont's trademark. The district court at the time ordered Kolon to pay over W1 trillion (US$1=W1,134) in compensation to DuPont and suspend its worldwide production and sales of the aramid fiber for the next 20 years.

Kolon on Tuesday said it appealed the case.