Credit: Aamir Siddiqui / Android Authority
- Apple is suing OPPO, accusing the company of stealing Apple Watch trade secrets through a former employee.
- Engineer Chen Shi allegedly downloaded 63 confidential files and shared research details with OPPO before leaving Apple.
- Apple claims OPPO encouraged Shi’s actions to gain an unfair advantage in wearable tech development.
Corporate espionage is more common than many of us realize, but two tech giants are at the center of a particularly dramatic example right now. A former Apple Watch engineer is the key player in a new lawsuit, with Apple accusing him of secretly gathering trade secrets for rival OPPO before jumping ship.
As reported by Bloomberg, the complaint filed in federal court alleges that Chen Shi, a sensor system architect at Apple, concealed his plans to join OPPO and instead told colleagues he was returning to China to care for his parents. Apple says that while still employed, he attended dozens of one-on-one meetings with Watch technical staff to gather information about ongoing health-sensing research.