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Uber Threatens To Fire Engineer Accused of Stealing Trade Secrets From Waymo (gizmodo.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the out-with-the-old-in-with-the-new dept.

Uber's general counsel Salle Yoo has warned Anthony Levandowski that if he doesn't return the files he's accused of stealing from Google's self-driving car unit and using them to develop similar technology at Uber, or open deny taking them, he could be fired. Gizmodo reports: Uber's general counsel Salle Yoo warned Levandowski in a letter sent Monday and made public last night that, if he didn't return the stolen files or openly deny taking them, he could be fired. The letter is a result of a court order issued Monday, and Levandowski has until the end of the month to comply. "We understand that this letter requires you to turn over information wherever located, including but not limited to, your personal devices, and to waive any Fifth Amendment protection you may have," Yoo wrote. "While we have respected your personal liberties, it is our view that the Court's Order requires us to make these demands of you." Despite the allegations against him, Levandowski's job at Uber has been protected so far by his reputation as a rising star in the self-driving industry and his close friendship with CEO Travis Kalanick, who called Levandowski his brother from another mother. However, Yoo's letter hints that the tide at Uber may be turning against Levandowsk -- in addition to demanding he return Waymo's documents, Yoo also asks Levandowski to return any Uber files he may have and to only use Uber-issued devices for work, where his actions will be monitored. "If you have not fully complied with our prior request to return all Uber-owned documents in your possession, custody, or control, you must immediately return all such documents to us," Yoo wrote.

39 comments

  1. Absurd by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    The idea that digital documents can be "returned" is completely absurd.

    1. Re: Absurd by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Your tiny penis is also absurd!!!!

    2. Re: Absurd by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      Like the square root of two?

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    3. Re:Absurd by TWX · · Score: 1

      The point of "returning" them is to prove what the party of the second took from the party of the first. They're not returned because the party of the first no longer has them, but to demonstrate what the party of the second took from the party of the first, so that the party of the second is not able to use what was taken. I expect that if Google/Alphabet/Waymo has evidence of what was accessed then they have a good case for denying Uber the ability to use the contents of those, and to block doing any development by anyone that has had access to that material.

      I also expect that until Uber "returns" the content to essentially come-clean, Uber won't be allowed to do any self-driving development of any kind, and if they are discovered to have done so they'll find themselves facing even stronger legal problems.

      --
      Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
    4. Re: Absurd by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow, smart comment. You must be proud.

    5. Re: Absurd by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Do not talk about Donald that what. His hands are uge!!! Uge!!!! As big as Gyna!

    6. Re: Absurd by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How is "returning" those files going to guarantee he doesn't use them in the future ? I mean even if he gives back an archive he may have kept a copy somewhere else, there is no way to enforce that.

  2. But how does Uber know he has the files? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Oh, that's right, he gave them to Uber, and now they're throwing him under the bus.

    Don't steal for your employer, they will not go to bat for you.

    1. Re:But how does Uber know he has the files? by Smallpond · · Score: 2

      I know of a consultant who negotiated a contract with a competitor of a past client that indemnified him against any legal action. The 2nd company lost the lawsuit brought by the 1st company and had to get out of the business entirely but the consultant came out OK.

  3. Why would he care... by x0ra · · Score: 1

    He already got the $250-or-so millions in Uber stock...

    1. Re:Why would he care... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When (not if) the company goes bankrupt that stock will be worth nothing. The key question is whether he's able to sell out first. He can care very much that he gets clear of insider training limits.

    2. Re:Why would he care... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He also got $120 million from Google.

    3. Re:Why would he care... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Since we have no idea what was written into his contract with Uber, but I would not be surprised if there was not a clause that allowed Uber the chance to withdraw their stock options.
      Of course if that fails, Uber could sue him for breach of contract. Do not think for a second that Uber will not toss him under the truck, because they will. Uber might sue him anyways to recoup something / anything regardless just to make a point to everyone else. Google's suit against Levandowski will just be the cherry on top of that shitcake.

      Other thoughts:
      No idea what deal the government might cut with Levandowski.
      No idea if Levandowski will spill the beans on how the deal was made with Kalanick.
      No idea if Google will sue both Levandowski and Kalanick personally for the stealing of the plans.
      No idea Kalanick will survive this (my guess is no).

  4. Illegal Court Order by mysidia · · Score: 1

    We understand that this letter requires you to turn over information wherever located, including but not limited to, your personal devices, and to waive any Fifth Amendment protection you may have,

    Last I checked a Judge CANNOT issue an Order demanding someone to Waive a constitutional right.
    Waiving a constitutional right can be offered as a voluntary option for a settlement, not as an Involuntary requirement demanded by a judicial order.

    1. Re:Illegal Court Order by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

      Last I checked a Judge CANNOT issue an Order demanding someone to Waive a constitutional right.

      This is civil litigation. The 5th Amendment is for criminal cases.

    2. Re: Illegal Court Order by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It doesn't. It asks Uber to demand the documents under threat of termintion.

    3. Re:Illegal Court Order by geoskd · · Score: 3, Informative

      Last I checked a Judge CANNOT issue an Order demanding someone to Waive a constitutional right.

      The Judge didn't. Uber told Levandowski to waive his 5th amendment rights in regards to this case or they will terminate his employment. Given the court case surrounding the very issue that he is required to waive his rights, Uber is perfectly within the law to make the demand of Levandowski. If he did not violate the law, then waiving his rights in that regard will have no effect on him. If he did break the law, then he is in violation of his contract with Uber anyways, so they have the right to fire him on those grounds. This is simply Ubers only legal way to prod him to undo the legal jamb he put the company in.

      --
      I wish I had a good sig, but all the good ones are copyrighted
    4. Re:Illegal Court Order by DaHat · · Score: 1

      Like the police, lawyers not representing you don't have to tell the truth when trying to get you to do something which may or may not be beneficial to you.

      Remember, Salle Yoo is Uber's general counsel who is representing the company... not a single employee, and this action makes perfect sense as it creates even more groundwork for with-cause termination and perhaps claw-back of some benefits.

      --
      Help Brendan pay off his student loans
    5. Re:Illegal Court Order by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > The 5th Amendment is for criminal cases.

      So it cannot be waived and court can't demand to waive it?

    6. Re: Illegal Court Order by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Says a guy who thinks a Hello World program is AI. Everything you say is bullshit.

    7. Re:Illegal Court Order by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      The letter didn't come from a judge. Learn some basic reading comprehension, you trisomic knackerbag.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    8. Re:Illegal Court Order by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      it creates even more groundwork for with-cause termination

      California, where Uber is headquartered, is an at-will employment state. Either party to an employment agreement can terminate the arrangement at any time and for any reason or no reason. The only protections are those specifically laid out as protected classes in the law (i.e. race, gender, sexual orientation and age). Other than that, they can fire you anytime or you can quit anytime with zero notice legally required to the other party.

      perhaps claw-back of some benefits.

      Never heard of anything like that in California or anywhere for regular employees. C-Suite executives get their bonuses clawed back sometimes, but most ordinary workers don't even get a bonus anymore these days. The only real exception is finance, where it's institutionalized on the understanding that pay most of the rest of the time will be average. It's the rule of the pirates on Wall Street, no plunder no pay.

    9. Re:Illegal Court Order by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What are you talking about? Bonuses in the software field are sop. People who don't get them take it as a signal to polish their resumes.

    10. Re: Illegal Court Order by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Uber is saying "we order you to waive 5th amendment rights or be fired".

      Uber can do that. The government cannot.

    11. Re: Illegal Court Order by pellik · · Score: 1

      https://www.electricmonk.nl/lo...

    12. Re:Illegal Court Order by Smallpond · · Score: 1

      , you trisomic knackerbag.

      Has to be from a random insult generator.

    13. Re:Illegal Court Order by DaHat · · Score: 1

      California, where Uber is headquartered, is an at-will employment state

      Most states are at-will employment states... that doesn't mean that a smart company doesn't lay the groundwork with meticulous documentation of issues leading to termination to avoid any issues should someone opt to litigate... speaking as someone who has been on both sides of such a thing.

      --
      Help Brendan pay off his student loans
  5. Catch-22? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There's no way he won't *also* be fired for "stealing" from Uber by symbolically giving the files back (because they were all just copies) to "a rival company" either.

    The whole point of this little PR stunt is to pretend that only the one engineer was at fault for any of this, and no one else ever benefited.

    1. Re:Catch-22? by TWX · · Score: 1

      The whole point of Uber is to try to have enough of a passenger-livery company when self-driving tech becomes viable to become profitable. They're currently not profitable, and if they don't manage to ditch the albatross around their neck to the satisfaction of the court then they might be denied the use of any self-driving technology that they don't purchase from the open market, which would probably mean the end of the company entirely.

      --
      Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
  6. Explain to me why BeauH1B's summary is fucked up by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

    He wrote: "or open deny taking them"

    In the quoted bit it's in actual English, like with an adverb and shit: "or openly deny taking them"

    Now any person with an IQ greater than his pant size would have simply copied & pasted it. So he either hasn't worked how to do that, or he thought there was an error there and "corrected" it.

    The fact that it's pointless, lame, and bad style to repeat (almost) yourself like that is another issue for another time.

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  7. Re: Explain to me why BeauH1B's summary is fucked by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Mostly slashdot editors have been outsourced to Kentucky and Alabama.

  8. Re: Explain to me why BeauH1B's summary is fucked by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

    They int thet gerd.

    Fucking hell, people from Barnsley write better.

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  9. Something is odd here by DeplorableCodeMonkey · · Score: 1

    Threatened? Makes you think that something is really serious here. Even government contractors will typically summarily terminate people who pull an ethical lapse of this scope with client regulations or civil law.

    1. Re:Something is odd here by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Makes you think that something is really serious here.

      Maybe, but good engineers are hard to find. Firing one may simply be flipping a very skilled and profitable employee to a competitor. This is especially true in California where non-compete contracts are basically unenforceable.

      Even government contractors will typically summarily terminate people who pull an ethical lapse of this scope with client regulations or civil law.

      That's because the US Government enforces anti-kickback and other anti-corruption laws vigorously. If they think that a contractor is not cooperating fully with an investigation or taking appropriate action against the wrong-doers, they terminate the contractors approval status and they never work on another government contract again. Government contractors work in a specialized industry and they cannot survive without the government, so it's no surprise that they do exactly what the government wants.

    2. Re:Something is odd here by Imrik · · Score: 1

      Unless there is public pressure, companies will not usually fire someone who may or may not have done something. The threat is to make him actually say that he didn't steal them, waiving his fifth amendment rights in the process. If it turns out that he did steal them, he'll get fired regardless.

  10. Real Story: Yoo Uses Extortion On Levandowski by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    Yoo's real interest is to get some cold cash out of Levandowski by extortion.

    She wants $1,000,000 up front in cash.

    Second, she wants co-ownership of the papers and patent rights!

    Third, Yoo is a lesbian, fairly ugly one too, and wants Levandowski's sperm to get pregnant and get a child so she can sue for child support under California and Federal Law and live on "Easy Street" for the rest of her queer life.

    Jajajajajajajajaja

  11. Re: Explain to me why BeauH1B's summary is fucked by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You ever been to Doncaster?

  12. Brother from Another Mother? by Luthair · · Score: 1

    If these two assholes can find each other I guess the saying is true, there really is someone out there for everyone.

  13. Re: Explain to me why BeauH1B's summary is fucked by Smallpond · · Score: 1

    Y'all have sumpin agin the South?