Apple Accuses Former Apple Watch Staffer Of Conspiring To Steal Trade Secrets For Oppo

Apple is suing a erstwhile worker connected nan Apple Watch squad who near to subordinate Oppo, alleging that he “conspired to bargain Apple’s waste and acquisition secrets relating to Apple Watch and to disclose them to his caller employers.”

Ahead of starting his caller occupation astatine Oppo, nan employee, Dr. Chen Shi, attended “dozens” of meetings pinch method members connected nan Apple Watch squad to study astir their activity and downloaded 63 documents “from a protected Box folder” that he loaded onto a USB drive, according to nan lawsuit. Shi allegedly sent a connection to Oppo saying that he was moving to “collect arsenic overmuch accusation arsenic possible” earlier starting his job. And he searched nan net for position for illustration “how to swipe retired macbook” and “Can personification spot if I’ve opened a record connected a shared drive?” from his Apple-issued MacBook earlier leaving nan company.

Shi was formerly a sensor strategy designer astatine Apple, and nan institution says he had “a beforehand statement spot to Apple’s improvement of its cutting-edge wellness sensor technology, including highly confidential roadmaps, creation and improvement documents, and specifications for ECG sensor technology.”

He now heads up a squad moving connected sensing exertion astatine Oppo — which Apple says it learned because of “messages he near connected his Apple-issued activity iPhone.” In his resignation missive to Apple, Shi said he was leaving “due to individual and family reasons.” Via that iPhone, Apple besides says it recovered messages from Oppo demonstrating that it “encouraged, approved, and agreed to Dr. Shi’s scheme to cod Apple’s proprietary accusation earlier leaving Apple.”

When The Verge tried to interaction Oppo for comment, nan email bounced backmost because nan mailbox was full.