TechCapsules

AI-summarised brief · reviewed before publication

Apple is taking legal action against a former design engineer, Di Liu, who is accused of stealing confidential information related to the unreleased Apple Vision Pro features. This is not the first time Apple has faced allegations of trade secret theft, with similar incidents occurring in 2022, 2023, and 2024. According to the lawsuit, Liu allegedly copied a significant volume of Apple's novel technologies, including those embodied in Apple Vision Pro or not yet released, during his two-week notice period at Apple. Liu had initially told Apple that he was resigning to spend more time with his family, without disclosing his new job offer from Snap, the maker of Snapchat and smart glasses. This omission allowed him to continue accessing Apple's network, during which time he allegedly copied files from his Apple-issued laptop to his personal cloud storage. Although Liu deleted files that could reveal the precise details of what he took, Apple argues that the overlap between Apple's proprietary information and Snap's AR products suggests that Liu intends to use the stolen information. Apple is seeking a court order to force Liu to return the allegedly stolen trade secrets and is also seeking unspecified damages. Notably, Snap is not accused of any wrongdoing in the lawsuit, and Liu has not commented on the allegations, nor has any legal representative spoken on his behalf. The lawsuit provides the only available details on the matter. Apple's lawsuit is part of a pattern of similar cases the company has faced in recent years. In 2022, an employee leaked confidential information to the press, while in 2023, three ex-Apple engineers were accused of stealing Apple Car secrets. In 2024, Apple settled with Rivos, a startup firm accused of taking both trade secrets and poaching engineers from Apple.