Apple alleges former employee stole Apple Watch secrets before joining Oppo

Apple has reportedly filed a lawsuit a federal court in San Jose against a former employee of the Apple Watch team for stealing confidential information and handing it over to the Chinese tech company Oppo.

Apple sued a lawsuit against a former employee for trade secret misappropriation

Apple alleges that the employee, Dr Chen Shi, who joined Oppo after that, downloaded sensitive information and passed it on to the private Chinese consumer electronics manufacturer.

Dr Chen said that he was leaving the company “for personal and family reasons,” but he went on to join Oppo as the head of a team managing sensor technology.

But Apple alleged that he messaged Oppo with the promise to “collect as much information as possible.” His online search results on his Apple-issued computer included phrases “how to wipe out MacBook” and “Can somebody see if I’ve opened a file on a shared drive?”

Apple claims that before leaving the company, Shi attended multiple technical meetings and copied 63 files from a secure folder onto a USB drive, which allegedly contained confidential information.

This includes secret roadmaps, design documents, and specifications for health-related features such as the Apple Watch’s ECG sensor technology. According to Apple, Dr Chen had “a front-row seat” to its advanced health sensor projects while working as a sensor system architect, which he took advantage of.

"Concealing his impending employment with a direct competitor, Dr Shi set up and attended dozens of one-on-one meetings with Apple Watch technical team members to learn about their ongoing research,” the complaint stated.

However, an Oppo spokesperson released a statement to a media company, saying the following:

"We are aware of the recent lawsuit filed by Apple in California and have carefully reviewed the allegations in Apple's complaint. We have found no evidence establishing any connection between these allegations and the employee's conduct during his employment at OPPO."

The issue highlights the intense competition between Apple and its competitors.

"It would also risk destroying the value of Apple’s trade secrets and provide a competitor with an unfair advantage,” their complaint added.

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