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I realize that he's an asshole and his behavior was pretty egregious but as engineers we should not be happy about the precedent that this sets.
by s17n 6y ago
I realize that he's an asshole and his behavior was pretty egregious but as engineers we should not be happy about the precedent that this sets.
- MrSandman 6y agoAgreed. Reuters is already writing about how engineers need to be vigilant and the steps you should take to protect yourself: https://www.reuters.com/article/autonomous-uber-levandowski-law/explainer-the-trade-secret-minefield-what-workers-risk-when-changing-jobs-idUSL1N2F62ES https://www.reuters.com/article/autonomous-uber-levandowski-...
- lostcolony 6y agoYeah, but that explicitly mentions physical files, not knowledge you've acquired. Don't take physical files guys. Don't take digital files either. It's pretty simple. If it's in your head, you're almost assuredly safe. Every prosecution I can find for the Economic Espionage Act has to do with physical files. For you to be the first charged for knowledge in your head (and not running afoul of an NDA, a patent, a non-compete, etc), you'd have to be even more egregious than this guy, and just as valuable. Good luck hitting that bar.
- zerocrates 6y agoWhat's the worrying precedent engineers should be unhappy about here?
- s17n 6y agoGetting sued / prosecuted for switching jobs.
- ganstyles 6y agoSounds like he stole a bunch of trade secrets and gave them to his new job, and he got the new job because of his ability to do this. This may not be completely accurate, I haven't been following it too closely, but broad strokes. You must know this behavior is completely different than simply switching jobs?
- dragonwriter 6y ago> Sounds like he stole a bunch of trade secrets and gave them to his new job His “new job” was a business he cofounded and ran, until he sold it to Uber.
- dragonwriter 6y ago> Getting sued / prosecuted for switching jobs. No, getting sued and prosecuted for stealing trade secrets, using them as a basis for starting one business competing with the employer from which they were stolen, and then selling that business to another competitor of the one from which they were stolen.
- s17n 6y agoA similar case could be made against anybody who goes to work for a competitor. He fact that you aren’t guilty might not matter so much if you’re facing vastly asymmetric legal resources.
- TuringNYC 6y agoI would suggest looking at this case: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergey_Aleynikov https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergey_Aleynikov