Apple has filed a lawsuit against a former senior product design engineer, accusing him of stealing trade secrets related to its Vision Pro headset and taking them to Snap Inc., the maker of Spectacles. The complaint, lodged on June 24 in Santa Clara County Superior Court, claims that Di Liu misused his final days at Apple to copy confidential data and upload it to his personal cloud account.
Liu, who spent seven years at Apple and played a key role in the development of the Vision Pro augmented reality headset, told the company he was leaving to focus on his health and family. However, Apple alleges he had already accepted a similar design role at Snap, a direct competitor in the wearable AR market. By hiding his new employment, Liu reportedly avoided Apple’s internal offboarding procedures, which would have cut off his access to sensitive information.
Apple Alleges “Massive Volume” of Stolen Files
According to the lawsuit, three days before his departure, Liu accessed and uploaded thousands of internal documents from his Apple-issued MacBook to his personal cloud storage. These files reportedly covered unreleased features, product design, quality control measures, and Apple’s supply chain strategies for the Vision Pro.
Forensic analysis showed that Liu manually selected and renamed folders before transferring them. Apple also claims he deleted certain files from the laptop to conceal the full extent of the data he removed. “Mr. Liu’s actions were deliberate,” the company stated in its legal filing.
Apple argues that there is significant overlap between the proprietary materials Liu retained and his current responsibilities at Snap. While Snap is not named as a defendant, Apple says Liu’s new role closely mirrors his former position, increasing the risk that Apple’s trade secrets could be used by a direct competitor.
Legal Action and Context of Trade Secret Disputes
Apple is seeking a court order that would compel Liu to return all confidential materials and allow a thorough inspection of his devices and cloud accounts. The company is also asking for financial damages for breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secrets.
In a statement to the press, Snap denied any involvement, saying it had “no reason to believe” the lawsuit is related to Liu’s work at the company.
This case adds to a growing list of legal actions Apple has taken against former employees over the alleged theft of intellectual property. In 2021, Apple sued designer Simon Lancaster for leaking internal information to a journalist. Lancaster later settled the case. In 2022, Apple filed suit against startup Rivos, claiming the company hired employees who took chip-design secrets with them. That case remains ongoing. In separate incidents, former engineers Weibao Wang and Zhang Xiaolang faced federal charges and criminal penalties for similar conduct.