Apple settles lawsuit against former employee accused of leaking trade secrets
Apple has settled its lawsuit against Simon Lancaster, a former materials lead who allegedly stole trade secrets and shared them with a journalist.
As part of the settlement, Lancaster will pay an undisclosed sum to Apple. He is also barred from disclosing any confidential information related to Apple without Apple's express written consent.
The settlement, spotted by The Verge was approved by a judge in early November.
Apple initially sued Lancaster in 2021, alleging that he'd sold trade secrets to an unnamed publication in exchange for favorable coverage of a startup.
Lancaster had worked with Apple for more than a decade. He used his seniority to attend meetings outside the scope of his work, where he allegedly learned about yet unreleased Apple products.
On his last day, he downloaded a "substantial number" of confidential Apple documents from Apple's corporate network onto his personal computer.
He shared a confidential document with an unnamed correspondent, which Apple refers to as "Project X."
Nine days after announcing his exit, Lancaster requested access to documents pertaining to two other projects he didn't belong to. He sent that data to the correspondent as well.
After departing Apple, Lancaster congratulated the correspondent about the success of an article that disclosed Apple secrets.
Read on AppleInsider
As part of the settlement, Lancaster will pay an undisclosed sum to Apple. He is also barred from disclosing any confidential information related to Apple without Apple's express written consent.
The settlement, spotted by The Verge was approved by a judge in early November.
Apple initially sued Lancaster in 2021, alleging that he'd sold trade secrets to an unnamed publication in exchange for favorable coverage of a startup.
Lancaster had worked with Apple for more than a decade. He used his seniority to attend meetings outside the scope of his work, where he allegedly learned about yet unreleased Apple products.
On his last day, he downloaded a "substantial number" of confidential Apple documents from Apple's corporate network onto his personal computer.
He shared a confidential document with an unnamed correspondent, which Apple refers to as "Project X."
Nine days after announcing his exit, Lancaster requested access to documents pertaining to two other projects he didn't belong to. He sent that data to the correspondent as well.
After departing Apple, Lancaster congratulated the correspondent about the success of an article that disclosed Apple secrets.
Read on AppleInsider
Comments
Seems like either I'm missing something or some folks don't understand. Agreeing to a settlement means both parties are agreeing to settle the matter out of court. When a settlement cannot be reached (or when one party decides not to engage with the process of settlement), one side can take the case to court in which case it would then be trialled and the determination is made by the court of law (a judge).
Of course Lancaster took the deal, because it meant no trial, no change of jail time, and an NDA. Apple should have sent a message via prosecuting the thief but they didn't. Either Apple felt sorry for the poor guy who had no choice but to steal from his employer (/sarc) or Apple didn't think they had a case worth pursuing. That's usually code for a poor chance of conviction.
I don't care about theories, stats, opinions. Lancaster serving at least 5 yrs would make be feel better. Not being sentenced to, but serving at least 5 yrs.