Aug 21: In a lawsuit filed in federal court in San Jose, Apple accuses smartphone maker 
Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp Ltd (“OPPO”) and its US research center InnoPeak Technology, Inc (“InnoPeak”) of poaching sensor system architect Chen Shi — a highly compensated member of the Apple Watch team — and encouraging him to steal trade secrets for his new job with the Chinese company.
Shi secretly accessed confidential documents on Apple’s health-sensing technologies for OPPO’s benefit to develop a competing wearable device before departing Apple in June. Shi concealed his defection to OPPO by falsely telling his colleagues at Apple that he was returning to China to take care of his aging parents.
“Concealing his impending employment with a direct competitor, Dr. Shi set up and attended dozens of one-on-one meetings with Apple Watch technical team members to learn about their ongoing research.”
In addition, “late at night just three days before leaving Apple, Dr. Shi downloaded 63 documents from a protected Box folder … He then transferred them to a USB drive one day before his departure.”
Shi violated his confidentiality and IP agreement with Apple, and OPPO / InnoPeak knew well of Shi’s activities, which they condoned and encouraged.
In a June 4, 2025 message to Zijing Zeng, PhD, OPPO’s Vice President of Health, Shi confirmed his start date with OPPO / InnoPeak and his nefarious actions:
“我计划 6/30 入职 这周就和组里提离职 最近也在内部看各种资料 找不少人 1:1 尽量多收集信息 之后和你们分享.”
[English translation of message]
“I’m planning to start on 6/30. This week I’ll inform my team about my resignation. Lately, I’ve also been reviewing various internal materials and doing a lot of 1:1 meetings in an effort to collect as much information as possible—will share with you all later.”
Rather than protest Shi’s clearly inappropriate conduct, Zeng responded “alright” and sent an “OK” emoji.
After departing Apple, Shi joined OPPO’s research center in Silicon Valley, which operates under the OPPO and InnoPeak brands.
OPPO is aware of the lawsuit and has reviewed Apple’s allegations, a representative for the company said in a WeChat message.
“We have found no evidence establishing any connection between these allegations and the employee’s conduct during his employment at Oppo,” the representative said. “Oppo respects the trade secrets of all companies, including Apple, and Oppo has not misappropriated Apple’s trade secrets. Oppo will actively cooperate with the legal process, and we are confident that fair judicial proceedings will clarify the facts.”
The case is Apple Inc. v. Chen Shi, Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp Ltd., and InnoPeak Technology Inc., 5:25-cv-7105, US District Court, Northern District of California (San Jose).
Apple has filed numerous suits in recent years accusing ex-employees and rival companies of breaching contracts and stealing valuable intellectual property. At least three of the iPhone maker’s former engineers who worked on its now abandoned electric vehicle autonomous driving project have been criminally prosecuted for allegedly taking secrets to China. The tech giant also has been locked in a court battle with Irvine, California-based Masimo since 2020 over smartwatch technology.
bloomberg.com/news/articles/
Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp Ltd (“OPPO”) and its US research center InnoPeak Technology, Inc (“InnoPeak”) of poaching sensor system architect Chen Shi — a highly compensated member of the Apple Watch team — and encouraging him to steal trade secrets for his new job with the Chinese company.
Shi secretly accessed confidential documents on Apple’s health-sensing technologies for OPPO’s benefit to develop a competing wearable device before departing Apple in June. Shi concealed his defection to OPPO by falsely telling his colleagues at Apple that he was returning to China to take care of his aging parents.
“Concealing his impending employment with a direct competitor, Dr. Shi set up and attended dozens of one-on-one meetings with Apple Watch technical team members to learn about their ongoing research.”
In addition, “late at night just three days before leaving Apple, Dr. Shi downloaded 63 documents from a protected Box folder … He then transferred them to a USB drive one day before his departure.”
Shi violated his confidentiality and IP agreement with Apple, and OPPO / InnoPeak knew well of Shi’s activities, which they condoned and encouraged.
In a June 4, 2025 message to Zijing Zeng, PhD, OPPO’s Vice President of Health, Shi confirmed his start date with OPPO / InnoPeak and his nefarious actions:
“我计划 6/30 入职 这周就和组里提离职 最近也在内部看各种资料 找不少人 1:1 尽量多收集信息 之后和你们分享.”
[English translation of message]
“I’m planning to start on 6/30. This week I’ll inform my team about my resignation. Lately, I’ve also been reviewing various internal materials and doing a lot of 1:1 meetings in an effort to collect as much information as possible—will share with you all later.”
Rather than protest Shi’s clearly inappropriate conduct, Zeng responded “alright” and sent an “OK” emoji.
After departing Apple, Shi joined OPPO’s research center in Silicon Valley, which operates under the OPPO and InnoPeak brands.
OPPO is aware of the lawsuit and has reviewed Apple’s allegations, a representative for the company said in a WeChat message.
“We have found no evidence establishing any connection between these allegations and the employee’s conduct during his employment at Oppo,” the representative said. “Oppo respects the trade secrets of all companies, including Apple, and Oppo has not misappropriated Apple’s trade secrets. Oppo will actively cooperate with the legal process, and we are confident that fair judicial proceedings will clarify the facts.”
The case is Apple Inc. v. Chen Shi, Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp Ltd., and InnoPeak Technology Inc., 5:25-cv-7105, US District Court, Northern District of California (San Jose).
Apple has filed numerous suits in recent years accusing ex-employees and rival companies of breaching contracts and stealing valuable intellectual property. At least three of the iPhone maker’s former engineers who worked on its now abandoned electric vehicle autonomous driving project have been criminally prosecuted for allegedly taking secrets to China. The tech giant also has been locked in a court battle with Irvine, California-based Masimo since 2020 over smartwatch technology.
bloomberg.com/news/articles/