Apple has taken Chinese smartphone giant Oppo to court, alleging that he encourages one of his prized engineers and encourages him to walk with closely protected secrets about Apple Watch Technology.

The case in a federal court in San Jose, a sensor system architect Chen Xi claims that the confidential documents related to Apple’s health-related facilities were quietly swept away before leaving the company in June. Apple alleged that Shi then gave this information to Oppo, which helped the opponent develop her wearing device.

According to Apple, Shiye’s actions were anything but accidental. “Hiding his adjacent employment with a direct contestant, Dr. Shi set up and participated in dozens of meetings with members of the Apple Watch Technical Team to know about his ongoing research,” the complaint said.

The company further alleged that in the days before his exit, Xi staged a late night data raid. “Late night, three days before leaving Apple, Dr. Xi downloaded 63 documents from a protected box folder,” the complaint continues. “Then he transferred him to a USB drive a day before his departure.”

Shi, who had worked in Apple since 2020, allegedly hid his defections by telling the colleagues that they were going back to China to take care of the elderly parents. Instead, Apple says, he joined Oppo’s Research Hub in Silicon Valley, walking under Oppo and INOPEC brands.

Apple claims that Shi was still in direct communication with Oppo officials on its parole. In a message, the complaint is alleged, Xi wrote to Oppo’s health vice -president in Chinese that he was “reviewing various internal materials and holding 1: 1 meetings in an attempt to collect as much information as possible, later shared with all of you.” Oppo’s executive allegedly replied “fine” and chased with a “OK” emoji.

The case has so far marked another string of legal quarrel. Apple has launched against the accused of theft of intellectual property against former employees and rivals. The iPhone manufacturer has prosecuted the first engineers for an attempt to take mystery in China from his now shelved self-driving car project, while it is closed in a long-running legal battle with Masimo Corp in California on a smartwatch patent.

Oppo, officially known as Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecom Corp, has lightened the latest claims of Apple. In a statement sent via WeChat, a company representative said, “We have not found any evidence to establish any connection between these allegations and the conduct of the employee during our employment in Oppo. Oppo respects all companies’s business secrets, including Apple, and OPPO has not considered Apple’s business secrets to be wrong. Oppo has supported the legal process.” OPPO has supported the legal process. “

However, Apple said that alleged misconduct reduced its adequate investment in leading technologies such as “commitment to innovation and Apple Watch.” In its complaint, the company said: “It will also risk destroying the value of Apple’s trade secrets and providing a competitor with an unfair advantage.”