AMD sues ex-managers for apparently copying 100, 000 confidential files and trade secrets
State-of-the-art Micro Devices is taking 4 former employees to court -- one vice president and three managers on the firm's Boxborough, Mass., plant -- who left the corporation to go and work for rival Nvidia recently.The chipmaker is accusing them of coping more than 100, 000 confidential documents and trade tips for take with them.
The accommodate, filed Monday in U. S. District Court in Massachusetts, statements former vice president Robert Feldstein, along with managers Manoo Desai, Nicolas Kociuk along with Richard Hagen, took the files before they left the corporation. AMD said it wants to recover the files, which the company claims cover many methods from upcoming AMD technology to agreements with enterprise customers.
The court has recently issued a temporary restraining order against the four former employees, ordering the preservation of just about any copies of AMD materials they will have and any computers or devices they will own. They also must not necessarily divulge or use any top secret information from AMD.
Feldstein remaining AMD in July, according to be able to reports, after he helped broker major contracts to view AMD technology launch in the next-generation variety of game consoles, including the Xbox 360 system, PlayStation, and the Wii You, before he left for Nvidia.
AMD said it had "uncovered evidence" how the four had "transferred to exterior storage devices trade secret files and information from the days prior to their leaving AMD to be effective for Nvidia. "
"The volume of materials that these three defendants collectively utilized in storage devices, each of which is unaccounted for, as they left to be effective for AMD's competitor exceeds 100, 000 electronic digital files. " AMD also said from the filing that the files "include certainly confidential, proprietary, and/or trade secret materials in relation to developing technology and/or highly top secret business strategy. "
Specifically, the filing notes that "three extremely confidential files -- two licensing contracts with significant customers, and a document outlining proposed ways of AMD's strategic licensing -- have been transferred. " If used by Nvidia, the chipmaker said, this will "provide an unfair advantage if improperly used or disclosed. inches
"Perforce, " the name associated with an AMD internal database containing AMD's technology and development in the company's process and product, were also combined with external drives, the company claimed. The database contains more than 200 files, which have 'confidential' markings in it.
The chipmaker also alleges that one of several managers "ran several Internet searches precisely to copy and/or delete large numbers of documents, " which was then used to transfer the majority the allegedly stolen files.
AMD claims the four were in breach in their contracts, trade secret laws along with unfair competition laws, and dishonored the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
An AMD spokesperson told ZDNet in a very statement that the company "will always act to aggressively protect its top secret, proprietary and trade secret information. " The spokesperson added:
We believe information are clearly outlined in our pleadings and they are supported by forensic evidence. This pleadings are publicly available. Current and former AMD employees are contractually forced to honor the ongoing confidentiality and non-solicitation obligations each decided while employed with us. As this case is now in litigation, we have no further comment at this time.
