Apple Files Lawsuit Against Oppo, Alleges Theft of Apple Watch Trade Secrets

SAN FRANCISCO – Apple has filed a lawsuit in a California federal court against its former employee, Chen Shi, and Chinese tech giant Oppo, alleging a conspiracy to steal highly sensitive trade secrets related to the Apple Watch. The complaint accuses a former Apple engineer of illegally downloading confidential documents on health sensors before leaving the company to join Oppo.

According to court filings, the lawsuit claims Chen Shi, who held a senior position as a Sensor System Architect on the Apple Watch team, downloaded at least 63 confidential documents to a USB drive in the days leading up to his departure in June 2025. These documents allegedly contained proprietary information on a range of health technologies, including schematics for ECG sensors, temperature sensing capabilities, and product roadmaps.

The lawsuit further alleges that Shi engaged in a pattern of deception, informing his colleagues that he was leaving Apple to return to China to care for his aging parents. However, Apple's forensic analysis of his work computer revealed searches for phrases like "how to wipe out macbook" and "can somebody see if I've opened a file on a shared drive," suggesting a deliberate attempt to conceal his actions.

Apple's complaint also directly implicates Oppo. The lawsuit claims that messages recovered from Shi’s work phone indicate he told an Oppo executive he was "collecting as much information as possible" from Apple to share with them later. The executive’s alleged response of "alright" and an "OK" emoji is cited as evidence of Oppo's complicity in the alleged conspiracy. Shi is currently leading a sensing technology team at Oppo's research center in Silicon Valley.

In a statement responding to the allegations, Oppo denied any wrongdoing. The company said it found no evidence to support Apple's claims and stated it respects the intellectual property and trade secrets of all companies. Oppo has pledged to fully cooperate with the legal proceedings, expressing confidence that "fair judicial proceedings will clarify the facts."

This is not the first time Apple has pursued legal action against former employees for intellectual property theft. The company recently filed a similar lawsuit against a former engineer accused of stealing secrets related to its Vision Pro headset. The case highlights the high stakes in the ongoing competition for technological innovation, particularly in the wearable health device market.