Apple sues Oppo over alleged theft of technology

Apple sued Oppo, saying it hired a senior Apple Watch engineer and encouraged him to take Apple secrets to make a competing device.

The complaint, submitted Thursday in federal court in San Jose, says sensor systems architect Chen Shi covertly drew on Apple’s health-sensing work to support his new role at the Chinese company.

The filing states that Shi accessed restricted materials tied to Apple’s wearable program before leaving the company in June. Apple says those actions were taken for Oppo’s benefit while a rival product was being prepared.

“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 states.

Apple contends the activity intensified in the days immediately before his departure.

The suit says that “late at night just three days before leaving Apple, Dr. Shi downloaded 63 documents from a protected Box folder.” It adds “He then transferred them to a USB drive one day before his departure.” as mentioned in a Bloomberg’s report.

Apple alleges Shi lied about Departure, shared secrets with Oppo

Apple says it often goes to court when others misuse its intellectual property. The complaint says that in recent years at least three former engineers from Apple’s now-ended self-driving car project were charged with crimes for taking secrets to China.

The company has also been litigating with Irvine, California based Masimo Corp. over smartwatch technology since 2020.

Apple says Shi concealed his move to Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp. by telling colleagues in Cupertino that he was returning to China to care for his aging parents. Apple says Shi violated his confidentiality and IP obligations, and that Oppo was aware of and encouraged his actions.

In one alleged message sent in Chinese to Oppo’s vice president of health before he quit, Shi wrote that he had 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 executive replied “alright” and sent an “OK” emoji, according to the complaint.

Apple warns of damage to innovation and fair Play

Apple argues that letting the conduct by Shi and Oppo “to go unpunished would undermine Apple’s commitment to innovation and its substantial investments in pioneering technologies like Apple Watch.” The complaint continues stating “It would also risk destroying the value of Apple’s trade secrets and provide a competitor with an unfair advantage.”

After his departure, Shi joined Oppo’s Silicon Valley research arm, which operates under the Oppo and InnoPeak names, the complaint says.

The lawsuit is titled Apple Inc. v. Chen Shi, Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp Ltd., and InnoPeak Technology Inc., No. 5:25-cv-7105, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose Division. The venue places the dispute in federal court in San Jose. The complaint details the alleged conduct in that filing.

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