Lawsuit against Xu
The American startup Magic Leap Inc., a headphones manufacturer for digital projection of objects in the real world, recently accused one of its previous engineers of stealing technology for the creation of a proprietary augmented reality device in China.
The technology company said that Nreal Light “bears a striking similarity to the confidential designs that Magic Leap had under development before and during the time that Mr. Xu worked at Magic Leap, but which were not ultimately commercialized or publicly released.”
They also mentioned an April 2019 interview in which Mr. Xu described being exposed to space computing through Magic Leap and stated as well that he, “Learned a lot from the people, the entire company and also from his view.”
Xu, who founded Hangzhou Tairuo Technology Co., based in Beijing, also known as Nreal, presented his own augmented reality glasses at a renowned Las Vegas trade show in January, where they were touted as lighter-weight than the Magic Leap glasses.
The lawsuit against Xu is for breach of contract, fraud and unfair competition. The company Nreal is also mentioned as accused.
Non-compete clauses
When the intellectual property of your company is properly protected, it is possible to sue former employees when they try to improve their position with their new employers by disclosing proprietary information.
For this reason, it is recommended that the non-competition clause be kept within certain reasonable limits to be considered enforceable.
These limits include the prohibition of the use of trade secrets and intellectual property for a reasonable period of time. It may contain some type of geographical restriction. Avoid prohibitions such as working within a specific industry.
Business Lawyer
If possible, it is advisable to avoid lawsuits against former employees for violation of non-competition agreements. For this, a business lawyer with expertise in negotiations can be very useful.
If a lawsuit occurs, it will involve a great expense in terms of time and money that will not benefit any of the parties involved.
A lawyer will arbitrate the necessary means to negotiate a reasonable agreement, thus avoiding an unnecessary amount of litigation expenses.
Sometimes there may be no other option than to sue to stop the offending behavior.
If you have concerns about the intellectual property and business secrets of your company, contact our Miami, FL business attorneys for more information about your rights as a business owner.