Apple is taking Chinese smartphone maker Oppo to court, accusing it of luring away a key Apple Watch engineer and encouraging him to walk out the door with confidential health-sensing technology. The Cupertino-based lifestyle and tech giant claims it has clear evidence of misconduct and intent, with the lawsuit taking aim at both the well-known Chinese manufacturer and the former Apple employee.
A laundry list of IP theft accusations
And some suspicious Google searches
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In a complaint filed Thursday in federal court in San Jose, Apple claims Sensor System Architect Chen Shi secretly siphoned internal research before leaving Apple in June to join Oppo’s US research arm InnoPeak. It alleges Shi repeatedly and knowingly accessed proprietary data with Oppo’s knowledge and encouragement.
Before downloading Apple confidential information off its networks, Dr. Shi searched the Internet for “how to wipe out [a] macbook.” And in the middle of downloading information from Apple’s shared drives, he searched, “Can somebody see if I’ve opened a file on a shared drive?” — From Apple’s complaint
According to Apple, Shi didn’t just hoard documents, but actively sought out information. “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 lawsuit states.
The case echoes a broader pattern. Apple has previously taken former employees to court — and in some cases, federal prosecutors have stepped in — over allegations of trade secret theft, particularly tied to its abandoned autonomous car project. The company has also spent years grappling with medical device maker Masimo over smartwatch health sensor patents, which forced Apple to seek out an additional US Customs ruling to finally enable its smartwatches’ blood oxygen sensing in conjunction with an iPhone.
The shadowy world of corporate espionage
Underneath the Apple Watch’s back panel lies powerful tech that Apple isn’t quite allowed to activate in the US.
Apple’s complaint says Shi told colleagues he was returning to China to care for his parents while in reality he had already lined up a job at Oppo. The filing even points to a message Shi allegedly sent to Oppo’s Vice President of Health prior to leaving: “I’ve been reviewing various internal materials and doing a lot of 1:1 meetings in an effort to collect as much information as possible—will share with you all later.” The Oppo exec’s reply was reportedly a simple “alright” followed by an OK emoji.
In a statement shared on WeChat, Oppo disputed Apple’s version of events, but said it “will actively cooperate with the legal process.” In the statement, Oppo says, “We have found no evidence establishing any connection between these allegations and the employee’s conduct during his employment at Oppo.”
