When Trade Secrets Cases Go Criminal: Part 2

By Joshua Robbins and Adam Sechooler (June 28, 2017, 12:37 PM EDT) -- As discussed in the first part of this two-part article, the ongoing litigation over Uber Technologies Inc.'s alleged theft of trade secrets from Waymo LLC, Google Inc.'s self-driving car subsidiary, has highlighted the potential criminal consequences of civil trade secrets cases. In the Uber case, U.S. District Judge William Alsup took the unusual step of referring the case to the U.S. Attorney's Office for criminal investigation. Uber has since fired Anthony Levandowski, the former Waymo engineer and leader of Uber's self-driving car project who is at the center of the litigation. Levandowski had refused to provide testimony or turn over documents in the civil case, citing his Fifth Amendment rights, leading Judge Alsup to threaten civil sanctions against Uber. While the case may not be typical, it provides important lessons about the criminal issues that lawyers should understand when litigating civil trade secrets cases....

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