Apple Accuses Oppo of Poaching Employees, Stealing Confidential Tech

Apple has filed a lawsuit against Chinese smartphone maker Oppo, accusing the rival of illegally poaching employees and stealing trade secrets. According to Apple, Oppo targeted key staff to gain insider knowledge and misappropriated confidential technology to strengthen its competitive position. The lawsuit underscores rising tensions in the global smartphone market, where intellectual property protection and talent retention have become critical issues as companies battle for dominance.

Apple Inc. has filed a lawsuit accusing Chinese smartphone maker Oppo of poaching a senior member of its Apple Watch team and encouraging the employee to steal confidential information to aid the rival’s wearable technology development.

The complaint, filed Thursday in federal court in San Jose, California, claims that Chen Shi, a sensor system architect at Apple, secretly accessed proprietary documents on health-sensing technologies before leaving the company in June to join Oppo.

According to Apple, Shi concealed his plans to defect by telling colleagues he was moving back to China to care for his aging parents. In reality, the company alleges, Shi was preparing to join Oppo’s Silicon Valley research arm, InnoPeak Technology Inc.

The lawsuit states that Shi conducted dozens of one-on-one meetings with Apple Watch technical team members to gather research details. Just days before his departure, Apple says, Shi downloaded 63 confidential documents from a secure folder late at night, later transferring them to a USB drive.

Apple alleges Shi violated confidentiality and intellectual property agreements, and that Oppo knowingly encouraged his actions. The company cited internal communications showing Shi telling Oppo’s vice president of health that he had been “collecting as much information as possible” to share later. The executive allegedly responded with an “OK” emoji.

Oppo denied the claims. “We have found no evidence establishing any connection between these allegations and the employee’s conduct during his employment at Oppo,” a company representative said in a WeChat message. “Oppo respects the trade secrets of all companies, including Apple, and has not misappropriated Apple’s trade secrets. We will cooperate fully with the legal process and are confident fair judicial proceedings will clarify the facts.”

Shi, who joined Apple in 2020, could not be reached for comment. Apple declined to immediately respond to inquiries.

The case marks the latest in a series of legal battles over intellectual property. Apple has previously filed multiple lawsuits against former employees accused of taking trade secrets to Chinese firms. Several ex-engineers from its abandoned autonomous vehicle project have faced criminal prosecution. The company has also been embroiled in a high-profile legal fight with Irvine, California-based Masimo Corp. since 2020 over smartwatch technology.

Apple argued in its filing that failing to hold Shi and Oppo accountable would undermine its investments in innovation and give a competitor an unfair advantage.

The case is Apple Inc. v. Chen Shi, Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp Ltd., and InnoPeak Technology Inc., 5:25-cv-7105, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (San Jose).

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Source: NDTV