Uber to Pay Waymo $245 million to Settle Dispute
Alphabet subsidiary Waymo settled with Uber in the midst of a trade secret infringement trial. This lawsuit originated when Waymo brought suit against Uber in 2017, alleging that former Waymo engineer Anthony Levandowski, who was hired by Uber to lead Uber’s self-driving car project, took with him thousands of confidential documents.
Uber will reportedly pay $245 million in shares to Waymo in order to settle the case, a settlement that took place just prior to the start of the fifth day of testimony.
“While we do not believe that any trade secrets made their way from Waymo to Uber, nor do we believe that Uber has used any of Waymo’s proprietary information in its self-driving technology, we are taking steps with Waymo to ensure our Lidar and software represents just our good work,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in a statement.
Congress passes Defend Trade Secrets Act by overwhelming margin
On April 27, 2016, the United States House of Representatives passed S. 1890, the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (DTSA), by a vote of 410-2. Only Congressman Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Congressman Justin Amash (R-MI) voted against the bill.
The DTSA was authored by U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-DE) (pictured left) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and cosponsored by nearly two-thirds of the Senate. The bill was previously passed by the Senate on April 4, 2016, by a vote of 87-0, and will now move on the White House. Even before the Senate passed the DTSA, the Obama Administration voiced strong support for the bill. President Obama is expected to quickly sign the bill into law, which will make it the the first-ever comprehensive federal trade secret law.
Once signed by President Obama, the DTSA will amend the Economic Espionage Act of 1996 to create a federal civil remedy for stealing trade secrets and give innovators another procedural avenue by which to protect their intellectual property from theft.
05.4.16 | Congress, Trade Secrets | Gene Quinn
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02.13.18 | Trade Secrets | Gene Quinn