Apple Alleges Employee Stole Apple Watch Secrets Before Joining Oppo
Apple is going after a former Apple Watch team member, accusing him of swiping trade secrets before jumping ship to Oppo. It seems like things got pretty serious, as Apple alleges this individual was actively trying to gather intel to share with his new employer. The lawsuit paints a picture of corporate espionage, claiming the employee attended numerous meetings to soak up information.
Apple claims that before starting at Oppo, Dr. Chen Shi, the former employee, had "dozens" of meetings with technical members from the Apple Watch team and downloaded 63 documents from a protected folder into a USB drive.
What makes this case particularly juicy is the claim that this ex-employee, Dr. Chen Shi, downloaded a bunch of sensitive documents – 63, to be exact – onto a USB drive. It's like something straight out of a spy movie! What's even more interesting is Apple's claim that it discovered messages showing Oppo encouraged Dr. Shi to gather Apple's confidential data before his departure.
Before leaving Apple, the employee apparently searched "how to wipe out macbook" and "Can somebody see if I’ve opened a file on a shared drive?".
Apple says he was in a key position to know all about Apple's health sensor technology, including roadmaps and design documents. Now, he's leading a sensing technology team at Oppo. The funny thing is that Apple found messages from Oppo through the employee's Apple-issued iPhone, which, according to Apple, shows that Oppo "encouraged, approved, and agreed to Dr. Shi’s plan to collect Apple’s proprietary information before leaving Apple.”
It will be interesting to see how this plays out in court. If the accusations are true, it could have significant implications for both the individual involved and Oppo. For now, all we can do is wait and see.
Source: The Verge