Google sues former engineer for 'leaking secrets about Pixel chips'
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Google has filed a lawsuit against a former semiconductor engineer, alleging that he posted trade secrets about the design of the SoC used in Google Pixel phones online.
Microsoft Word - Google_Roy_Original Complaint (for filing) 4892-3174-2460 v.2.docx
(PDF file) https://regmedia.co.uk/2024/11/28/lawsuit_roy_google.pdf
Google sues former engineer for leaking Pixel chip secrets | TechSpot
https://www.techspot.com/news/105755-google-sues-former-engineer-leaking-pixel-chip-secrets.html
Google sues Indian employee over alleged leaks • The Register
https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/28/google_trade_secret_suit/
The lawsuit was filed against Indian semiconductor engineer Harshit Roy, who joined Google in 2020 after graduating from university and was involved in supporting the design and development of SoCs used in the Pixel series.
In August 2023, Roy began developing the next-generation SoC for the then unreleased Pixel device. However, according to documents submitted to the court, Google knew at this point that Roy had taken photos of information displayed on his work PC. In December 2023, Google asked Roy to delete the photos from all of his devices and to provide evidence of the deletion.
Roy then stayed at Google until March 2024, after which he left to pursue a doctoral program at the University of Texas at Austin. According to Google, Roy did not return his work laptop, which was scheduled to be returned, and instead took it away.
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Shortly after leaving Google, Roy began posting confidential information about Google, including photos of internal documents detailing the Pixel SoC and actual photos of the SoC, on X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn. Roy also threatened to disclose further information to Google.
As of May 2024, Roy had already received a warning from Google to delete the post. However, Roy said, 'Empires will collapse. Remember that you (Google) will too,' and 'Don't expect me to abide by non-disclosure agreements.'
In court filings, Google said it had repeatedly requested Roy remove the information and had tried in good faith to resolve the matter without judicial intervention. It also asked Roy to stop sharing confidential information and pay damages.
Roy also posted a message on his LinkedIn saying, 'An undefended lawsuit is not considered a victory. See you in court soon.'
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