Apple Sues Former Vision Pro Engineer for Stealing Trade Secrets

Apple has taken legal action against a former engineer of its Vision Pro headset, accusing him of stealing company trade secrets. The lawsuit, filed in California, targets Di Liu, a senior design engineer who worked at Apple from 2017 to 2024. According to the court filing, Liu downloaded thousands of confidential documents in his final days at Apple and saved them to his personal cloud accounts.

Apple alleges that Liu did not inform the company when he resigned last year that he was planning to join Snap, a competitor known for its smart glasses. As a result, Apple did not immediately revoke his access to company accounts, allowing him to continue downloading files during his two-week transition period. The iPhone maker's lawyers stated, 'Worse still, the review of Mr. Liu's Apple-issued work laptop also shows that while maintaining access to Apple's Proprietary Information under false pretenses, he used his Apple credentials to exfiltrate thousands of documents containing Proprietary Information from Apple's secure file storage systems.'

The documents downloaded by Liu included codenames for Apple projects, descriptions of the company's technology, product design, and supply chain information. Apple asserts that all employees agree to keep company files confidential, and Liu violated these agreements. Liu, who worked on Apple's Vision Pro headset as a system product design engineer, has not responded to requests for comment from CNBC.

Apple's lawyers argue that Liu could use the trade secrets in his role at Snap, where he is now a product design engineer. 'The overlap between Apple's Proprietary Information that Mr. Liu retained and Snap's AR products suggests that Mr. Liu intends to use Apple's Proprietary Information at Snap,' according to the filing. Snap, however, maintains that it has no reason to believe the allegations are related to Liu's employment or conduct at the company.

Apple is seeking damages and a forensic examination of Liu's devices to ensure that all trade secrets are deleted. This lawsuit is part of a broader trend of Apple pursuing legal action against former employees for leaking internal information. The company has previously settled with former engineer Simon Lancaster over providing information to a journalist and sued another employee, Andrew Aude, for leaking details to the media. Apple also settled a lawsuit with chip startup Rivos, which employed several former Apple semiconductor employees.

In addition, at least three former Apple employees have been arrested and accused of stealing company secrets and sharing them with China-linked organizations. One of these employees pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four months in prison, while two others are still in legal proceedings.

Apple's aggressive approach to protecting its intellectual property reflects the company's intense secrecy and the high value it places on its proprietary information. As the tech giant continues to innovate in areas like augmented reality and artificial intelligence, it remains vigilant in safeguarding its competitive edge.