Apple accuses ex-Apple Watch employee of stealing trade secrets for Oppo.
So, it looks like Apple is once again playing defense with its closely guarded secrets. This time, they're pointing fingers at a former Apple Watch team member, Chen Shi, alleging he conspired with Oppo to swipe some valuable trade secrets. I mean, you'd think after the Vision Pro incident, people would learn, right?
According to the lawsuit, Shi, who worked as a Sensor System Architect, was supposedly digging for info on optical, temperature, and ECG sensors – the very tech that makes the Apple Watch tick. Apple claims that Shi didn't come clean about his move to Oppo. Instead, he said he was heading back to China to care for his parents and wasn't looking for a new gig.
However, Apple's legal team alleges that Shi was busy holding "dozens of one-on-one meetings" to pump his colleagues for information. It also appears that Shi downloaded 63 files from a protected folder, transferred them to a USB drive, and then, in what I can only imagine was a moment of panic, Googled how to wipe a Macbook and whether anyone could see if he'd opened files on a shared drive.
Adding fuel to the fire, Apple claims Shi told his future Oppo bosses he would "collect as much information as possible" about Apple's health-sensing technologies. Ouch. It's a pretty damning accusation.
Now, Oppo is denying any wrongdoing, stating they've "found no evidence establishing any connection between these allegations and the employee's conduct during his employment at OPPO." They also claim they haven't "misappropriated Apple's trade secrets." It's a classic "he said, she said" situation, but with a lot of potentially sensitive tech in the balance.
Look, Apple's been pretty aggressive about protecting its intellectual property lately. It's not hard to see why they're so protective. After all, innovation is the name of the game, and if your competitors are getting a sneak peek at your playbook, it's a serious problem.
Whether Shi actually leaked anything of value remains to be seen, and it will be interesting to see how it unfolds in court. The case highlights the constant battle companies face in protecting their valuable information in an age where it’s easier than ever to transfer and share data. Companies need to be more than diligent to protect their work.
Source: Engadget