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Applied Asked FBI To Charge Workers With IP Theft, Jury Told
Law360 (August 3, 2021, 10:07 PM EDT) An FBI agent testified during a criminal trade secret theft trial Tuesday that Applied Materials Inc. asked the agency to investigate and charge four ex-workers with stealing its intellectual property, but conceded the company never disclosed emails showing Applied s executives encouraged one of the defendants to launch a spinoff company.
FBI Special Agent Ann Trombetta s testimony came during the second week of an in-person California federal jury trial against former Applied workers Liang Chen, Donald Olgado, Wei-Yung Hsu and Robert Ewald.
The trial kicked off July 27, with prosecutors telling a jury that the former workers stole LCD chip technology trade.
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Workers Planned To License IP They Allegedly Stole, VC Says
Law360 (August 2, 2021, 8:48 PM EDT) A venture capitalist testified Monday in a criminal trial that one of the four former Applied Materials Inc. workers accused of trade secret theft asked him to invest in their startup, which would pay Applied $6 million over five years to license its intellectual property.
Silicon Valley venture capitalist Alain Harrus, the CEO of inkjet manufacturing equipment maker Kateeva, took the stand during the fourth day of an in-person California federal jury trial against former Applied workers Liang Chen, Donald Olgado, Wei-Yung Hsu and Robert Ewald.
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IP Pirates Or Workers Pushed Overboard? Jury Must Decide
Law360 (July 27, 2021, 10:57 PM EDT) Prosecutors told a California federal jury during trial openings Tuesday that four former Applied Materials employees stole LCD chip technology trade secrets to launch a startup, while defense counsel said Applied s top brass planned to lay off their division and encouraged them to find investors to fund a spinoff entity.
During an in-person jury trial broadcast by telephone, Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan Knight claimed that the four workers Liang Chen, Donald Olgado, Wei-Yung Hsu and Robert Ewald began conspiring in the summer of 2012 to steal proprietary technology that Applied Materials Inc. had spent six years developing after Applied.