Intel sued a former Oregon employee on Friday, claiming he had taken trade secrets with him when he screwed up for Microsoft and used the information to gain an advantage in subsequent business negotiations with Intel.
The engineer, Varun Gupta, worked for Intel for a decade before leaving for Microsoft in January 2020. He allegedly loaded Intel secrets onto two USB disks before stopping and later obtained them on his Microsoft-released laptop.
Gupta could not be immediately reached for comment.
Intel and Microsoft have been partners for many years and are increasingly competitive as Microsoft develops its own chip engineering capabilities. Microsoft is preparing to open a large new engineering center in Hillsboro, near Intel’s research plants in Oregon, and has hired a former Intel vice president to help lead it.
In this case, however, the lawsuit indicates that Intel and Microsoft cooperated in investigating the incident.
According to Intel’s complaint, Gupta denied knowing where one of the USB drives was, but later handed it over to Microsoft for analysis. According to the lawsuit, he allegedly threw away a second USB disk containing Intel secrets.
The case alleges that Microsoft determined that Gupta had plugged the USB drives into his Microsoft laptop.
“In its new role at Microsoft, Gupta uses the confidential information and trade secrets it has misused from Intel, and uses the information in head-to-head negotiations with Intel on custom product design and pricing for significant volumes of Xeon processors,” Intel claims. in Friday’s filing.
Intel’s complaint suggests that the marketing and engineering team became concerned that Gupta may have been taking trade secrets while negotiating with him. According to an internal investigation, he allegedly transferred 3,900 Intel documents to a USB drive on his last day at Intel.
Intel is seeking unspecified damages in the lawsuit, attorney fees and an order preventing Gupta from using or disclosing the material on the USB drive. The case was filed in the U.S. District Court in Portland on Friday.
“Intel has invested billions of dollars in the development of intellectual property that is critical to its success in some of the most competitive industries in the world,” Intel said in a written statement on Monday. “We rely on our current and former employees, but we are committed to protecting our intellectual property and other property, and we will not hesitate to take action to prevent its misuse.”
– Mike Rogoway | [email protected] | twitter: @rogoway | 503-294-7699