Apple has accused Chinese smartphone maker Oppo of poaching a senior engineer and encouraging him to steal sensitive Apple Watch health-sensing technology, escalating a battle over intellectual property and raising new questions about China’s ambitions in wearables.
Alleged Secret Transfers Before Departure
Apple filed a lawsuit in federal court in San Jose, alleging that Chen Shi, a former Apple sensor systems architect, covertly accessed restricted materials tied to Apple’s wearable program before leaving the company in June. The complaint claims Shi downloaded 63 protected documents from a secured Box folder and transferred them to a USB drive just days before his departure.
According to Apple, Shi had concealed his impending move to Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp. by telling colleagues in Cupertino that he was returning to China to care for aging parents. In reality, the company alleges, Shi was in close contact with Oppo executives, sharing internal research and conducting dozens of one-on-one meetings with Apple Watch team members to gather sensitive information.
In one cited message to Oppo’s vice president of health, Shi allegedly wrote that he had been “reviewing various internal materials and doing a lot of 1:1 meetings in an effort to collect as much information as possible — will share with you all later.” The executive reportedly replied with an “OK” emoji.
Oppo Accused of Encouraging Corporate Espionage
Apple argues that Shi’s actions were not isolated but encouraged by Oppo, which it accuses of knowingly exploiting Apple’s trade secrets to prepare a competing wearable device. The complaint names both Oppo and its U.S. research arm, InnoPeak Technology, as co-defendants.
“Concealing his impending employment with a direct competitor, Dr. Shi set up and attended dozens of meetings with Apple Watch technical team members to learn about their ongoing research,” the filing states. Apple says Oppo stood to benefit directly from the timing of Shi’s downloads and his immediate employment at its Silicon Valley research center.
The lawsuit is the latest in a series of high-stakes legal battles Apple has waged over technology theft. In recent years, several engineers from its abandoned self-driving car project were charged with stealing trade secrets for Chinese firms. Apple has also been locked in litigation with Masimo Corp. since 2020 over blood-oxygen sensor technology used in smartwatches.
Apple Warns of Threat to Innovation and Fair Competition
Apple says that allowing Shi’s conduct to go unpunished would not only undermine its massive investment in pioneering health-sensing technology but also damage fair competition in the wearable industry.
“Permitting this conduct to continue would risk destroying the value of Apple’s trade secrets and provide a competitor with an unfair advantage,” the complaint states. Apple emphasized that it has long defended its intellectual property in court when facing misuse by competitors or former employees.
The case, Apple Inc. v. Chen Shi, Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp. Ltd., and InnoPeak Technology Inc., No. 5:25-cv-7105, is filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose Division. With the venue placing the dispute at the heart of Silicon Valley, the outcome could set another precedent in the escalating global struggle between American and Chinese tech giants over innovation, intellectual property, and market dominance.