Apple Accuses OPPO Engineer of Stealing Apple Watch Trade Secrets
Despite the Apple Watch pretty much only working with iOS devices, Apple’s wearable commands a pretty sizable chunk of the market. This is thanks to the features of the smartwatch that legitimately make it useful. It is also understandable why Apple wasn’t too thrilled when trade secrets surrounding the Apple Watch were leaked to Oppo.
Apple says Oppo engineer stole trade secrets
Now, Apple employs hundreds, if not thousands of employees, who work on a variety of products at the company. Recently, it seems that Oppo had recruited a former Apple Watch engineer, Chen Shi, who reportedly shared trade secrets about the Apple Watch with the Chinese company.
Apple discovered this leak when Shi gave a presentation on Apple sensor technology. This allowed Oppo to gain further insight into the development of the smartwatch. In fact, Shi did not even shy away from the fact that this information came from inside Apple. Oppo marketed the internal talk with the title “Apple’s Sensor Hardware R&D Philosophy and Methodology.” A tagline for the meeting even reads, “Are you curious about how Apple’s sensors are developed?”
Apple is saying that Shi’s presentations include slides that were taken directly from the company. The complaint also accuses Oppo of encouraging Shi to share trade secret information.
Oppo’s response
Naturally, Oppo is denying that there was any theft of trade secrets. Apple has asked the courts for injunctive relief to stop Shi from sharing further information. However, Oppo says that it conducted its own comprehensive search of the systems Shi had access to. The company claims that there is “no indication that Oppo received any Apple trade secret information.”
It also does not believe that injunctive relief is justified. “There is consequently no basis for Apple to request preliminary injunctive relief, and it is not entitled to any such relief. OPPO has already looked for Apple’s ‘trade secrets’ and ‘confidential information’ and found nothing that it might disclose, retain, use or be obligated to return.”
It remains to be seen how this will play out. However, if Apple’s evidence is as damning as they claim, it might not look good for Oppo or Shi.
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