Latest news with #DiLiu
The Star
03-07-2025
- Business
- The Star
Apple claims engineer stole trade secrets, took them to rival
SAN JOSE: Di Liu of San Jose told Apple he was resigning his position as a design engineer to spend more time with his family and look after his health, but he had secretly taken a job with a rival, and before leaving the iPhone giant, he stole a 'massive volume' of its trade secrets, Apple alleges in a lawsuit against Liu. Over his seven years at Cupertino, California-headquartered Apple, Liu rose to become a senior product-design engineer, and worked on the research and development of the company's Vision Pro augmented-reality headset, a wearable computing device. The lawsuit, and Liu's LinkedIn profile, indicate he now works as a product-design engineer at Santa Monica, California-based Snap, which owns social messaging app Snapchat, and sells a wearable product called 'Spectacles.' His final role at Apple gave him 'access to various novel Apple technologies that are embodied in Apple Vision Pro or not yet released,' the lawsuit filed June 24 in Santa Clara County Superior Court alleged. When Liu resigned, he concealed from Apple a job offer two weeks earlier from Snap that meant 'he would soon start working in a product design role at Snap substantially similar to the role he held at Apple,' the lawsuit claimed. 'Because Mr Liu did not inform Apple that he was departing to work on another company's product, Mr Liu was permitted to stay on at Apple for the standard two-week departure period rather than immediately losing access to Apple's proprietary information,' the lawsuit alleged. Three days before leaving Apple, Liu used his company credentials to download thousands of Apple documents containing trade secrets, and upload them into his personal cloud storage, the lawsuit claimed. Included in the material was information related to product design and development, and production information concerning quality control, cost, and supply chain strategies, the lawsuit alleged. 'The overlap between Apple's proprietary information that Mr Liu retained and Snap's AR products (for which Mr Liu is a 'product design engineer') suggests that Mr. Liu intends to use Apple's proprietary information at Snap,' the lawsuit claimed. Liu could not be reached for comment. It was not clear from court records whether he had a lawyer representing him in the case. Snap, not named as a defendant or accused of any wrongdoing, said it had reviewed the claims in Apple's lawsuit, and had 'no reason to believe they are related to this individual's employment or conduct at Snap.' Apple accused Liu of breaking his confidentiality agreement, and is seeking unspecified damages. The company also wants a court order forcing Liu to return allegedly stolen trade secrets, and subjecting his electronic devices and cloud accounts to inspection, to ensure they contain none of Apple's proprietary information. Apple's alleged insights into Liu's treatment of confidential information appear to have arisen from examination of his company-issued computer, which the lawsuit claimed he used to download secrets, and copy them to his cloud storage. Liu has retained Apple's confidential information, the lawsuit claimed. 'Mr Liu's actions were deliberate,' the lawsuit alleged. 'Logs on his Apple-issued work laptop show that Mr Liu individually selected the folders he copied and, in some cases, renamed and reorganised them after moving them to his personal cloud storage account.' The lawsuit claimed Liu also deleted files from his company laptop 'that might have let Apple determine what data Mr Liu stole.' Allegations of theft of Apple's trade secrets in recent years have led to criminal and civil court cases. In 2021, Apple sued product designer Simon Lancaster in San Jose US District Court, alleging he provided stolen proprietary information to a journalist. Lancaster in 2022 agreed to pay an undisclosed sum to settle the case, court records show. Also in 2022, Apple sued Mountain View computer hardware startup Rivos in San Jose US District Court, claiming it poached employees who took chip-design secrets before leaving Apple. Rivos in a 2023 court filing denied the claim, saying Apple was 'hoping to frighten and send a message to any employees who might dare to leave Apple to work somewhere else.' In 2023, federal authorities charged software engineer Weibao Wang with stealing thousands of sensitive documents from Apple. The US Department of Justice claimed Wang fled to China five minutes before midnight the day law enforcement agents visited his Mountain View home. He was believed to be employed in China for an Apple competitor. An arrest warrant was issued for Wang, but the US does not have an extradition treaty with China. Last year, former Apple engineer Zhang Xiaolang received a four-month prison sentence for stealing Apple secrets while he was preparing to work for a Chinese startup. – The Mercury News/Tribune News Service
Hans India
02-07-2025
- Business
- Hans India
Apple Sues Former Engineer for Allegedly Stealing Vision Pro Secrets Before Joining Snap
Apple has filed a lawsuit against a former senior engineer, Di Liu, alleging he stole sensitive company information related to its upcoming Vision Pro headset just before moving to Snap Inc. According to legal documents submitted in California on June 24, 2025, Liu, who worked at Apple from 2017 until his resignation in 2024, is accused of downloading thousands of confidential files in his final days with the company. Apple claims the data transfer occurred while Liu still had access to his company-issued laptop and credentials. Liu served as a system product design engineer on the Vision Pro, a highly anticipated mixed-reality headset positioned as Apple's most ambitious entry into the spatial computing space. The tech giant alleges that the documents Liu took included proprietary hardware designs, technology architecture, internal project codenames, and even sensitive supply chain details. What raises further concern for Apple is Liu's undisclosed move to Snap—a direct competitor in the augmented reality market, known for its Spectacles smart eyewear. Because Liu did not reveal his new employer during his resignation process, he was granted a standard two-week transition period, during which Apple alleges he misused his active credentials to access and extract classified materials. In the legal filing, Apple's attorneys stated, 'Worse still, the review of Liu's Apple-issued work laptop also shows that while maintaining access to Apple's Proprietary Information under false pretences, he used his Apple credentials to exfiltrate thousands of documents... from Apple's secure file storage systems.' While the lawsuit is directed solely at Liu, Apple's legal team highlights the suspicious overlap between the content of the documents allegedly taken and Snap's work in AR technologies. Though Snap is not named as a defendant, the implication is clear: Apple sees Liu's new position as a potential risk to its competitive edge. This legal action is part of Apple's broader push to protect its intellectual property. In previous cases, Apple pursued former employees suspected of leaking sensitive information, including a 2022 settlement with ex-employee Simon Lancaster and a 2024 lawsuit against Andrew Aude, which was later dropped after he apologized. As the case develops, all eyes are on how the court will interpret Liu's actions and whether Apple's claims of corporate espionage will hold up under scrutiny.
India Today
02-07-2025
- Business
- India Today
Apple sues former employee for stealing and trading Vision Pro secrets
In yet another legal twist spotlighting Apple's unrelenting efforts to guard its confidential innovations, the iPhone maker has filed a lawsuit against a former senior engineer, accusing him of stealing sensitive company files before joining Snap, the parent firm of Snapchat and a known player in augmented reality hardware. Filed in California on June 24, 2025, the lawsuit accuses Di Liu, who had worked at Apple from 2017 until his resignation in 2024, of secretly downloading thousands of confidential documents in the days leading up to his departure. Apple claims these files were transferred to Liu's personal cloud storage while he still possessed his company-issued laptop and Apple, Liu served as a system product design engineer on its high-profile Vision Pro headset. This mixed-reality device represents the company's boldest venture into the spatial computing market. According to Apple, many of the files Liu is alleged to have taken related directly to proprietary information involving hardware design, technology architecture, project codenames, and even details of Apple's supply chain Apple says Liu failed to disclose during his exit process that he was joining Snap, a competitor in the augmented reality space and the maker of Spectacles, smart eyewear aimed at similar markets. Because of this lack of transparency, Liu was granted the usual two-week transition period after his resignation. During this time, Apple claims he used his still-active credentials to access and extract highly confidential information from the company's secure internal In the legal filing, Apple's lawyers criticised Liu's conduct as both deceitful and damaging, 'Worse still, the review of Liu's Apple-issued work laptop also shows that while maintaining access to Apple's Proprietary Information under false pretences, he used his Apple credentials to exfiltrate thousands of documents... from Apple's secure file storage systems.'Though Apple's lawsuit targets Liu alone, the company implies a strong link between the information allegedly taken and Liu's current responsibilities at Snap. Apple's legal team noted the overlap between the Vision Pro-related documents and Snap's own augmented reality products, suggesting that Liu may intend to apply Apple's proprietary knowledge in his new role as a product design engineer at the rival Snap is not named as a defendant in the case, the lawsuit subtly positions the social media company within the broader narrative of competitive risk, given the overlap in product aggressive legal stance in this case is not an isolated one. Over recent years, the company has gone to considerable lengths to pursue former employees whom it suspects of leaking internal information or intellectual property. Back in 2022, Apple reached a settlement with ex-employee Simon Lancaster, who had been accused of supplying confidential information to a journalist. Another high-profile case emerged in early 2024, when Apple sued engineer Andrew Aude for allegedly leaking sensitive material to the press. That lawsuit was eventually dropped after Aude issued an apology.- Ends
Phone Arena
02-07-2025
- Business
- Phone Arena
Apple accuses former engineer of stealing Vision Pro secrets and lying about his new job
Apple says that it was the victim of an Apple design engineer named Di Liu who lived in San Jose. After seven years of working in Cupertino for the tech giant Liu told the company that he was leaving to spend more time with his family and to monitor his health. But had Apple looked more closely at Liu, they would have seen that his pants were on fire. Unbeknown to Apple, Di had taken a position with Snap after leaving Apple. There was a lot more about Di Liu that Apple didn't know about; this information is just coming out now thanks to a lawsuit that the company filed against its ex-employee. In the suit, Apple accuses Liu of stealing a "massive amount" of trade secrets. During his seven years at Apple, Liu rose his way up the proverbial ladder until he was a senior product-design engineer. He found himself working on the unit conducting research and development of the Vision Pro spatial computer. Apple CEO Tim Cook and the Vision Pro. | Image credit-Apple The Vision Pro mixed reality headset uses augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). The latter uses audio, visual, and other features to immerse the user in a computer created environment. Augmented reality uses computer generated images and superimposes them over a real-life video feed. Information revealed in the lawsuit and in Liu's LinkedIn profile revealed that when he left Apple, the design engineer took a new job with Snap, Inc, the parent company of AR-powered social media app Snapchat. Snap also sells a wearable product called "Spectacles." The latest versions of these AR glasses are for app designers only. Using dual Snapdragon processors, these glasses can be run independently without being tethered to a smartphone or another device for processing data. When Liu left Apple, he did not mention to the company that he had received a job offer from Snap two weeks before his departure. The lawsuit filed by Apple said that this meant "he (Liu) would soon start working in a product design role at Snap substantially similar to the role he held at Apple." The lawsuit explained why Apple allowed him to stay at Apple for a two week period before leaving the company. "Because Mr. Liu did not inform Apple that he was departing to work on another company's product, Mr. Liu was permitted to stay on at Apple for the standard two-week departure period rather than immediately losing access to Apple's proprietary information." Apple claims that three days before leaving Apple, Liu used his credentials to download thousands of Apple documents containing trade secrets and upload them into his personal cloud storage. According to the lawsuit, the info he downloaded had to do with product design, quality control, and strategies related to the supply chain. -Apple's lawsuit Apple was able to examine Liu's company-issued computer, which he used to download company secrets and send a copy to his cloud storage. The lawsuit says that the defendant has violated his confidentiality agreement and seeks unspecified damages. It also wants the court to order Liu to return stolen trade secrets and undergo an examination of his electronic devices in case there are more stolen Apple trade secrets hidden on them. The suit also states, "Mr. Liu's actions were deliberate. Logs on his Apple-issued work laptop show that Mr. Liu individually selected the folders he copied and, in some cases, renamed and reorganized them after moving them to his personal cloud storage account." Snap was not named as a defendant or accused of any wrongdoing in the lawsuit. It said it had reviewed the claims in Apple's lawsuit, and had "no reason to believe they are related to this individual's employment or conduct at Snap." Secure your connection now at a bargain price! We may earn a commission if you make a purchase Check Out The Offer
NBC News
01-07-2025
- Business
- NBC News
Apple sues former Vision Pro employee for allegedly stealing 'thousands of documents' before joining Snap
Apple has accused a former engineer for its Vision Pro headset computer of stealing company trade secrets before starting a new job at Snap, according to a lawsuit filed in California last week. In the June 24 court filing, Apple accuses Di Liu, a senior design engineer, of downloading thousands of documents in his final days at the Cupertino company last year and saving them to his personal cloud accounts. This lawsuit is the latest example of Apple publicly going after a former employee for leaking internal information. Apple is an intensely secretive company, and lawsuits like this one highlight how the iPhone maker exercises tight control over its internal information, even if it has to pursue legal action against former staff. Apple alleges that Liu didn't inform the company when he resigned late last year that he was headed to Snap, a competitor and maker of smart glasses. As a result, Apple did not shut off his access to accounts and allowed him a customary two-week transition period, which he used to download company files, according to the lawsuit. '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 iPhone maker's lawyers said in the filing. Many of the files downloaded by Liu had codenames for Apple projects and described the company's technology, product design and supply chain, according to the lawsuit. Apple says that all employees agree to keep Apple files confidential and that Liu broke confidentiality agreements he made when he joined. Liu worked for Apple between 2017 and 2024, according to the lawsuit. Liu worked on Apple's Vision Pro headset as a system product design engineer, per the filing. Liu did not respond to a request for comment from CNBC. Apple lawyers wrote that Liu could use the trade secrets in his work at Snap. Apple is not suing Snap, and the social media company did not respond to a request for comment. 'The overlap between Apple's Proprietary Information that Mr. Liu retained and Snap's AR products (for which Mr. Liu is a 'product design engineer') suggests that Mr. Liu intends to use Apple's Proprietary Information at Snap,' according to the filing. Apple is seeking damages and for Liu to have his devices inspected by a forensic examiner to make sure all the trade secrets are deleted. The iPhone maker has sued several former employees in recent years for taking files when they left the company. Apple settled with former engineer Simon Lancaster in 2022 over providing information to a journalist. Apple also sued a former employee, Andrew Aude, in 2024 over leaking details to the media. That lawsuit was dismissed after Aude apologized. The Cupertino company sued Rivos, a chip startup staffed by former Apple semiconductor employees, over its intellectual property, and settled in 2024. Additionally at least three former Apple employees have also been arrested and accused by the government of taking company secrets and giving them to China-linked organizations. One pled guilty and was sentenced to four months in prison, and two are still in proceedings.
