Not related - but I do find it ironic that google is up in arms about stolen tech given Steve Jobs' vendetta against google over stolen smart phone ideas. And yes I realize that the gravity of the situation here is different but it's still an amusing thought - not sure why everyone is so offended by this comment.
Regarding the lawsuit - I've learned that we have no clue what is going on behind the scenes, so why stress over it. For all I know this is a power play by google or some evil scheme by Uber. Let's just wait and see how it plays out.
I'd like to clarify the use of the word "Stealing". It appears that Lewandowski _stole_ technical documentation and engineering work done around LiDAR. Google did not steal code, technical docs, or any engineering material. They recognized good usability concepts being used by Apple, and adapted them. They were matching the market leader's feature set. https://www.forbes.com/sites/timothylee/2011/10/25/yes-googl... It's a little different.
There's a really big difference between copying other people's design ideas, and straight up an employee stealing confidential documents to form a startup and then immediately being bought by a competitor. The significance of this difference ought to be obvious.
Given the context provided in this post, it seems pretty blatant and obvious. Stealing a design is one thing, stealing the circuit board design from an unreleased product is espionage.
This is the difference between misappropriation of trade secrets, patent infringement, and just copying uncopyrightable ideas from your competitors. A person can go to prison for the first, pay the injury compensation for the second, but nothing can be done for the third.
Regarding the lawsuit - I've learned that we have no clue what is going on behind the scenes, so why stress over it. For all I know this is a power play by google or some evil scheme by Uber. Let's just wait and see how it plays out.