Apple has initiated a lawsuit against Dr. Chen Shi, a former employee from its Apple Watch team, who has since joined the tech company Oppo. The lawsuit accuses Shi of attempting to steal Apple’s trade secrets related to the Apple Watch and sharing them with his new employer.
Before starting his role at Oppo, Shi reportedly participated in numerous meetings with the Apple Watch team to gain insights into their work. He is alleged to have downloaded 63 documents from a secure Box folder onto a USB drive. According to the lawsuit, Shi communicated to Oppo that he aimed to “collect as much information as possible” prior to commencing his position. Investigations revealed that Shi also searched for terms such as “how to wipe out MacBook” and “Can somebody see if I’ve opened a file on a shared drive?” on his Apple-issued laptop before departing from the company.
Shi served as a sensor system architect at Apple, where he had access to sensitive development information, including confidential documents regarding cardiovascular sensor technology. Following his departure, he is said to have taken a leadership role in a sensing technology team at Oppo, a fact Apple claims was uncovered through messages left on his work-issued iPhone. In his resignation letter, Shi cited “personal and family reasons” for leaving the company. However, Apple asserts that communication retrieved from the iPhone indicates Oppo was aware of and supported Shi’s intentions to gather proprietary information from Apple.
Attempts to reach Oppo for a statement were unsuccessful, as emails directed to the company were returned due to a full mailbox.
Source: https://www.theverge.com/news/764775/apple-watch-trade-secrets-oppo-lawsuit