This lawsuit highlights the difficulties associated with potential collaboration in the rapidly-advancing industry of self-driving vehicles.
Tesla brings the following claims in the lawsuit: (1) misappropriation of trade secrets in violation of the Defend Trade Secrets Act; (2) misappropriation of trade secrets in violation of the California Uniform Trade Secrets Act; (3) breach of contract due to Cao’s alleged breach of Tesla’s Non-Disclosure Agreement; and (4) breach of employee’s duty of loyalty.
As more autonomous vehicles enter the marketplace, sharing of data inputs (but not the source code) could assist in developing common safety standards and protocols for autonomous vehicles. However, some companies may be wary of sharing their data inputs because this could decrease the competitive edge that comes from a larger and more established fleet of vehicles.
Sarah Morrissey is an associate in Eckert Seamans’ Litigation Division. She focuses her product liability practice on the defense of product manufacturers and suppliers in product liability and personal injury matters. Sarah has experience handling these matters at various stages up to trial including pre-suit evaluation, development of defense strategies, and resolving discovery disputes.