Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) has accused Uber of knowingly covering up in the trade secrets lawsuit which claims that a former Waymo executive stole information from Waymo’s autonomous vehicle program.
Despite Alphabet’s allegations, Uber maintains its claim that it did not know that the former Waymo executive had stolen some files when leaving the autonomous driving division of Alphabet. The case started when the ride sharing company acquired a startup called Otto, which deals with self-driving trucks. The startup was founded by former Alphabet engineer Anthony Levandowski who is the former head of Waymo. Alphabet claims that the former executive stole 14,000 proprietary files before he left to launch Otto.
“Rather than do the right thing, Uber took part in a coverup, only firing Mr. Levandowski after their actions were exposed in litigation,” stated Waymo.
Uber defends itself against Waymo’s claims
Uber issued a response statement which pointed out that Alphabet has not presented any evidence to support the claim that any of the stolen files made their way to Uber. The cab hailing firm also pointed out that the court rejected the cover-up theory about a week ago. Judge William Alsup who has been presiding over the case was previously inclined to believe that Uber possibly knew about the stolen files but then there was no evidence provided by Alphabet to provide support for the claim.
Uber also stated during a court filing on Wednesday that Levandowski’s employment agreement had a clause preventing him from bringing over any information from Alphabet. Companies usually have such clauses to prevent legal implications in the future. The clause is considered to be a significant part of Uber’s defense against Waymo’s claims.
Despite the strong defense, Alphabet still maintains that Uber knew about the stolen files but covered it up until it came to be known that Levandowski had stolen the files. The case revolves around sensitive information that Waymo has been using to develop its self-driving technology. Uber has also been working on similar technology, thus giving rise to a rivalry between the two.
Alphabet stock closed the latest trading session on Wednesday at $961.01
