In a big update, tech giant Apple has decided to end its legal disagreement with chip startup Rivos, bringing a close to a two-year courtroom fight. The decision comes after Apple accused Rivos of taking its secret information, claiming that the startup worked to attract Apple engineers with access to important details.
Rivos fought back with its own legal action, saying Apple used strong tactics to stop its engineers from leaving. Now, according to a joint court filing, both companies plan to finish their agreement by March 15, wrapping up a complicated legal story.
The Accusations:
Apple started the legal process against Rivos in May 2022, saying the startup secretly targeted Apple employees working on System-on-a-Chip (SoC) designs. According to Apple's complaint, Rivos convinced former Apple employees to take a lot of important information. The lawsuit argued that this information included important specifications and design files for Apple's SoC technology.
In response, Rivos filed a countersuit against Apple in September 2023, saying Apple used strong tactics to stop its engineers from joining the startup. This added more difficulty to the disagreement, making things more complicated between the two tech companies.
The Agreement:
In a recent joint court filing reported by Bloomberg, Apple and Rivos shared details about their upcoming agreement. The agreement, which is still being finalized, includes plans to fix Apple's secret information by carefully checking Rivos' systems and other activities. This shows both sides are working together to address the accusations and find a friendly solution.
Both Apple and Rivos have told the US District Court for the Northern District of California that they are actively working to finish their agreement. The court document emphasizes that the agreement lets Apple check Rivos' systems to make sure any secret information taken during the alleged theft is recovered.
Noteworthy Developments:
The agreement with Rivos follows Apple's decision in April 2023 to drop a lawsuit against former executive Gerard Williams III. Williams, an important person in making Apple Silicon chips, left in 2019 to start a server chip startup called Nuvia. Qualcomm later bought Nuvia in 2021. This decision might show that Apple is choosing to find solutions instead of going through long legal fights.
The expected agreement between Apple and Rivos marks the end of a long legal fight over claims of secret theft and unfair competition. As both companies work to finish their agreement, the tech industry is watching closely to see how this solution might affect future interactions and collaborations in the competitive world of chip technology. This outcome highlights the importance of protecting important information in a time of fast technological progress and strong competition.
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