Waymo, the automated vehicle subsidiary of Google parent Alphabet, has filed a lawsuit against Uber, alleging intellectual property theft and patent infringement by the co-founder of its recently purchased self-driving technology provider Otto.
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Alphabet Inc. subsidiary Waymo is accusing Uber and self-driving technology provider Otto of intellectual property theft and patent infringement.
Waymo, the automated vehicle subsidiary of Google parent Alphabet Inc., has filed a lawsuit with the San Fransisco division of the U.S. District Court for Northern California against ride sharing company Uber and subsidiary Otto, the company said in a statement.
“Competition in the self-driving space is a good thing; it pushes everyone to develop better, safer and more affordable technology. But we believe that competition should be fueled by innovation in the labs and on the roads, not through unlawful actions,” Waymo said in a statement.
“Recently, we uncovered evidence that Otto and Uber have taken and are using key parts of Waymo’s self-driving technology.”
The suit alleges that employees of Otto, which was acquired by Uber in August 2016, conspired to misappropriate confidential files, blueprints, supplier lists, manufacturing details, design files, testing documentation and other technical information of Alphabet’s self-driving car operation, specifically as relates to Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology.
According to Waymo, LiDAR works by bouncing millions of laser beams off surrounding objects and measuring how long it takes the light to reflect, painting a 3D picture of the world around an autonomous vehicle. The technology is critical to detecting and measuring the shape, speed and movement of other road users like cyclists, vehicles and pedestrians.
The company said it recently received an email from one of its LiDAR component suppliers that included an attachment of machine drawings of Otto’s LiDAR circuit board, the design of which “bore a striking resemblance to Waymo’s unique LiDAR design.”
During an internal investigation, the company found what it believed to be a “concerted plan to steal Waymo’s trade secrets and intellectual property.”
In the complaint, Waymo alleged that former employee Anthony Levandowski, co-founder of Otto and leader of Uber’s autonomous vehicle division, downloaded over 14,000 highly confidential and proprietary design files for Waymo’s various hardware systems, including its LiDAR and circuit board, six weeks before his resignation.
“To gain access to Waymo’s design server, Mr. Levandowski searched for and installed specialized software onto his company-issued laptop,” the company said. “Once inside, he downloaded 9.7 GB of Waymo’s highly confidential files and trade secrets, including blueprints, design files and testing documentation. Then, he connected an external drive to the laptop. Mr. Levandowski then wiped and reformatted the laptop in an attempt to erase forensic fingerprints.”
The company went on to say that that other former Waymo employees, now at Otto and Uber, downloaded additional highly confidential information pertaining to its LiDAR system, including supplier lists, manufacturing details and statements of work with highly technical information.
“Our parent company Alphabet has long worked with Uber in many areas, and we didn’t make this decision lightly,” it said. “However, given the overwhelming facts that our technology has been stolen, we have no choice but to defend our investment and development of this unique technology.”
Reached for comment, a spokesperson for Uber told American Shipper, “We take the allegations made against Otto and Uber employees seriously and we will review this matter carefully.”
