Judge Allows Apple to Pursue Legal Action Against Startup Over Alleged Chip Theft
A federal judge in California has ruled that Apple Inc.’s lawsuit, which claims that startup Rivos Inc. unlawfully recruited its engineers to obtain trade secrets for the development of its own chip designs, can proceed against certain employees.
U.S. District Judge Edward Davila in San Jose said Apple had “sufficiently recognized” the trade secret and alleged “sufficient prejudice” by the three former employees. The judge denied motions to dismiss the Defend Trade Secrets lawsuit against three former Apple employees, along with five breach-of-contract claims.
The judge dismissed Apple’s trade secret claims against River, but allowed the iPhone maker to file an amended complaint.
The controversy revolves around “system-on-chip” technology, which shrinks multiple computer elements onto a tiny chip, which Apple says it has invested billions of dollars in to make its devices more efficient.
Apple alleged in a lawsuit filed last year that Rivos, who has employed dozens of Apple engineers, began a “coordinated campaign” in June 2021 to target his employees.
The former employees left and joined Rivos after stealing “highly sensitive” proprietary and trade secret information from Apple’s “system chips,” including its M1 laptop and A15 cellphone chips, according to the complaint.
