The former Apple employee, Di Liu, has been denounced by the company for downloading trade secrets after terminating his employment relationship being then an employee of the Snap brand. The worker was an engineer who was part of the team that was developing augmented reality technology for the Cupertino brand, the Vision Pro glasses. For its part, the company Snap has not wanted to make statements to CNBC. It is not the first time that the Iphone manufacturer has faced this type of lawsuit.
In 2022, Simon Lancaster was denounced for providing information to a journalist, and in 2024, Andrew Aude leaked details to the media. It was also the turn of Rivos in 2022, a chip startup formed by former Apple employees. Many of these complaints were dismissed after apologies from the defendant, while others have gone on to serve prison sentences.
Lawsuit against Di Liu
The world-renowned Apple brand is once again in court with one of its former employees. It is Di Liu, an engineer who worked in the augmented reality department, specifically in the development of Vision Pro glasses. What does the lawsuit say? The lawsuit states that, on June 24, Apple accused Di Liu of downloading thousands of documents in his last days at the company, and of saving them in his personal cloud. What was the problem with all this? Di Liu quit her job at Apple to start working at Snap.
Just that was an aggravating factor in the lawsuit; the Cupertino company adds that the worker did not inform that his resignation was due to start working at Snap, a clear competitor of smart glasses.The company added that, since they were unaware of this job change, they never locked him out of his corporate accounts, granting him a two-week transition period to access his personal information. However, this time was used by the former employee to download trade secrets.
What information did Di Liu subtract?
The information found in Liu’s possession comprised Apple’s codenamed project files. They included the company’s technology, product design and supply chain. Not only is the act illegal, but all employees sign a confidentiality agreement when working at the company, which Liu respected between 2017 and 2024. The lawsuit is not directed at Snap, but at Liu as an individual, but even so, the company has declined to comment on the matter.
This is not the first time
Apple and its lawyers claim that it suggests that “Mr. Liu intends to use Apple’s Proprietary Information at Snap”. They argue that the coincidence of the timeline between the file download and the start of his new job at Snap as a product design engineer is not at all coincidental. The lawsuit also demands that Liu’s devices be inspected by a forensic examiner to ensure that no files remain undeleted.
The Cupertino-based company has no qualms about bringing its employees to justice if required. In 2022, the company reconciled with Simon Lancaster, after he provided information to a journalist. In 2024, Andrew Aude was also sued for leaking detailed information to the media, but an apology was enough to get it dismissed. In 2024, he sued chip startup Rivos, a chip specialist formed by former semiconductor employees. Not all lawsuits get very far, except for 3 former Apple employees, who were sued for stealing company secrets and providing them to Chinese organizations. In these cases, 2 are still in court and another was sentenced to four months in prison.
Apple is very clear about its position on this type of situation. If any employee commits this type of crime or breaks the confidentiality agreement signed at the beginning of the business relationship, the company will not hesitate to take legal action.