Apple Accuses Former Engineer of Taking Vision Pro Secrets To Snap

Apple has filed a lawsuit against former engineer Di Liu, accusing him of stealing thousands of confidential files related to Apple's augmented reality headset. Liu allegedly took the files to benefit his new employer, Snap. Apple claims Liu misled colleagues about his departure, secretly accepted a job offer from Snap, and tried to cover his tracks by deleting files. Liu received a job offer from Snap on October 18, 2024, but waited nearly two weeks to resign from Apple, without disclosing his new employer. Liu copied over a dozen folders containing thousands of files from Apple's filesystem to a personal cloud storage account. The stolen data includes confidential Apple product code names, research, product design, and supply chain management documents. Liu allegedly deleted files to conceal his activities, which may hinder Apple's ability to determine the full scope of the data he exfiltrated. Apple demands a jury trial on a single count of breach of contract under a confidentiality and intellectual property agreement. The company is seeking the return of all misappropriated data, damages, and reimbursement of costs and attorneys' fees. Apple wants to prevent Liu from using the stolen data and to hold him accountable for his actions.