Apple has taken legal action against a former employee for allegedly handing over trade secrets to Oppo, a Chinese tech manufacturer. The lawsuit claims that Dr. Chen Shi, a former Apple Watch team member, downloaded confidential documents just days before leaving the company and shared them with Oppo. Apple is accusing Oppo and Innopeak, the companies that hired Dr. Shi, of benefiting from the stolen information.
Apple's lawsuit, filed in the Northern District of California, accuses Dr. Shi of taking sensitive information related to Apple's health sensor technology, including unreleased product details and specifications. The documents downloaded by Dr. Shi reportedly included information on upcoming Apple products and hardware implementations.
In addition to the health sensor technology, Apple claims that Dr. Shi stole confidential data related to custom chips developed for iPhone, iPad, and Mac products. The lawsuit also alleges that Dr. Shi communicated with Oppo's senior leadership and shared internal Apple materials with them before leaving the company.
Oppo has denied any connection between the allegations and Dr. Shi's conduct during his employment at the company. Apple is seeking an injunction to prevent Oppo from using its trade secrets and is pursuing restitution and damages through a trial.
Although Oppo does not operate in the U.S., it owns a research center in Silicon Valley where the alleged trade secret theft took place.
