Apple on Thursday sued a former employee, alleging that he leaked trade secrets to a reporter and in return sought favor with the reporter.
The case was filed against Simon Lancaster in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Lancaster spent 11 years at Apple before taking a position as head of consumer products at Arris Composites at the end of 2019. Lancaster was an advanced materials designer and product design architect at Apple, where he was’ instrumental in the development of the 13 ‘/ 15’ MacBook. Pro with the touchbar and the design of non-released Apple products, “said a press release from Arris Composites at the time.
Apple’s lawsuit alleges:
Despite more than a decade of service with Apple, Lancaster abused its position and trust in the company to systematically disseminate Apple’s sensitive trade secret information in an attempt to gain personal benefits. He used his seniority to access internal meetings and documents outside of Apple’s work commitments that contained Apple’s trade secrets, and he provided these trade secrets to his media correspondent. The correspondent then published the stolen trade secrets in articles, citing a “source” at Apple. Lancaster has on several occasions suggested that the correspondent give Lancaster benefits in exchange for Apple’s trade secrets. Lancaster, for example, suggested that the correspondent provide favorable coverage for a start-up business in which Lancaster was an investor. Lancaster even recruited the correspondent to serve as his personal investigator. In one case, Lancaster requested that the correspondent investigate a rumor that could be harmful to a company in which Lancaster had invested.
The last two sentences relate to an incident in the spring of 2019 in which Lancaster told the reporter about his’ dissatisfaction with Apple ‘due to’ a story published that day that reported that Apple would launch a new hardware product. manufactured ‘, the lawsuit said. ‘Shortly afterwards, Lancaster asked the correspondent to investigate the content of the story, because’ it could mean trouble for me. [Lancaster’s] startup. The correspondent replied, “I’ll see what I can find out.”
Lancaster then “informed a third party that the correspondent had committed to publishing an article about Lancaster’s start-up if he were to raise $ 1 million in funding,” Apple said, claiming that “the correspondent agreed has to publish the article in exchange for Lancaster’s ongoing misappropriation of Apple trade secrets. “When he left for Arris Composites at Apple, Lancaster asked the reporter to write a story about a 12-year-old Apple Design Veteran going after a great startup,” Apple said. Whether the stories suggested by Lancaster were published is not made clear in the lawsuit.
We have contacted Lancaster about the lawsuit and will update this article if we respond. The reporter was not mentioned in the lawsuit. Apple said the leaks contained “non-released Apple hardware products” but did not say which ones.
Apple Trade Secrets
Apple’s lawsuit alleges that Lancaster violated the Federal Trade Secrets Act and the California Uniform Trade Secrets Act and violated a confidentiality and intellectual property agreement.
Apple claims that Lancaster continued to disclose trade secrets to the reporter after announcing his resignation. “Lancaster’s role as’ correspondent’s’ source ‘deepened even after he announced his resignation from his role at Apple,” the lawsuit reads. “Indeed, Apple’s internal investigation into the devices provided by Apple to Apple as part of his service, shows that after Lancaster announced his resignation, he communicated with the correspondent about specific Apple trade secrets that the correspondent was looking for and took specific steps to obtain additional Apple. trade secrets. ‘
Apple is known for being mysterious about its plans for future products, but details are often reported before the announcement due to leaks to journalists.
“The trade secrets that Lancaster stole and sent to the correspondent for publication contain details about Apple hardware products that have not yet been released, unannounced feature changes to existing hardware products, and future product announcements, all of which are closely monitored,” Apple said. “Apple’s product teams – innovators, designers and builders – work in great mystery, often for many years, and under considerable personal burden, all to surprise and delight Apple’s customers with their creations. The deceptive and indefensible release of this product details that, through Lancaster’s misappropriation, undermined the morale of the teams that worked on the products and features involved. ‘
Apple said a “forensic review” of Lancaster’s devices shows that Lancaster and the correspondent coordinated to study specific documents and product information from Apple. The correspondent has on several occasions requested Lancaster to obtain specific Apple secret documents and information. Lancaster then sent to the correspondent some of the requested confidential material using devices owned by Apple. On other occasions, Lancaster met with the correspondent in person to provide them with the requested Apple confidential information. The full extent of their conspiracy is currently unknown; However, Apple’s investigation continues. ‘
Apple security measures
Apple said it was “taking all reasonable steps to maintain the confidentiality” of its trade secrets, including building physical security, monitoring computer access, “[ing] all employees to enforce strict confidentiality agreements, “and training employees on confidentiality information policies. Apple said Lancaster signed the company’s confidentiality and intellectual property agreement in May 2008.
Lancaster gained access to confidential information because it had a ‘senior role’ that involved ‘evaluating materials and prototyping innovations to enable future generations of products,’ “Apple said.
While Apple did not name Arris Composites directly in the lawsuit, the complaint said Lancaster’s new employer had a service agreement with Apple. “Portions of the trade secret information that Lancaster misuses are directly related to his role at his new employer, and it is likely that Lancaster’s misuse of Apple’s trade secrets continues to this day,” Apple claimed. “On his last day at Apple, Lancaster downloaded a significant number of confidential Apple documents from Apple’s corporate network to his personal computer that would benefit his new company.”
The sale agreement with Apple contains a confidentiality agreement to which Lancaster is subject, Apple said. ‘Apple wants to return all copies [trade secrets] and to ensure that Lancaster no longer possesses such data and information and contains an order against the use of the information, “the complaint reads.
Founded in 2017, Arris Composites says it makes “carbon fiber compositions that can be combined with other materials such as metals and even electronics.”
In addition to requesting an “order enjoining [Lancaster] to continue to misuse Apple’s trade secret information, ‘Apple has asked the court to pay Lancaster damages, penalties, restitution and attorney’s fees and costs.
“Why I left Apple”
Lancaster favorably wrote some of his time at Apple in a November 2019 post on LinkedIn titled “Why I left Apple and joined Arris Composites.” At Apple: “I was able to step up and help the engineering product design department take sketches off the drawing board and turn them into real products,” he wrote. “I fell in love with the magic of certain processes, such as the manufacture of additives and compositions, and would continue to become Apple’s advanced material.”
Lancaster holds several dozen patents of his time at Apple. When Lancaster became an angel investor in startups, “I realized how much I miss the excitement of the unknown, the exploration that many of these young founders experience,” he wrote. Apple, on the other hand, was a “well-oiled machine” that “works so well that it’s hard to change.” Lancaster wrote that Arris “will show that the manufacture of assemblies is not just something for shuttle services, but that it can change the products we carry in our pockets and cherish them on our desks.”