4 ms·
I don't know much - but perhaps Google could make a deal with Levandowski that if he spills the beans on what Uber did, then Google won't go after him? Google
by tuna-piano 9y ago
I don't know much - but perhaps Google could make a deal with Levandowski that if he spills the beans on what Uber did, then Google won't go after him?
Google obviously has much more to gain by suing Uber than suing a dude. If Google needs information, and Levandowski has that information, it would seem to be a good deal.
But if there's also possible criminal proceedings, Levandowski would need to make a similar deal with the government too?
- law_of_the_hobo 9y agoI have to imagine that google also wants to set a precedent that they won't tolerate people stealing their trade secrets.
- bllv7 9y agoExactly, exhaust all reasonable efforts in a public manner to thwart this kind of behavior in the future.
- scarmig 9y agoEh. Waymo definitely worries about Uber as a competitor, and in general many people have a distaste for Uber's culture and values. But there's still a pretty stark line between being a strategic competitor and being a scummy traitor who steals trade secrets and the labor of his coworkers. If it came down to a choice between shutting down Uber's self-driving car program and ruining Levandowski, I'm sure a lot of people would want to choose the latter, even though it's "irrational." Principles are important.
- monochromatic 9y agoAn individual, sure. But Google is too big to take the irrational vindictive option. I have to think they'd let Levandowski off the hook to shut down a competitor like this.
- scarmig 9y agoI'd expect the same. But I'd bet a majority of the individual actors, including those making the final decision, would really like to be able to take that vindictive option.
- eitally 9y agoGoogle currently is in arbitration with Levandowski, so the odds are relatively good they'll get both (positive outcomes from both suing Uber and pursuing AL).