Apple sues ex-engineer for stealing Vision Pro trade secrets, alleges he passed data to snap

Apple has filed a lawsuit against its former senior product design engineer, Di Liu, accusing him of stealing proprietary Vision Pro development materials and uploading them to personal cloud storage. Liu allegedly concealed a job offer from Snap Inc., maker of Snapchat and AR Spectacles, enabling him continued access during his two-week resignation period—when such access would otherwise be revoked.

 Theft During Notice Period

According to court filings dated June 24, 2025, Liu spent his final days at Apple manually copying “a massive volume” of confidential files—design diagrams, test data, supply-chain strategies, and unreleased Vision Pro features—from his company-issued laptop to his personal cloud account. He also allegedly deleted evidence to obscure the extent of the breach. ng for family-related reasons, while in fact preparing to join a competitor—information he failed to disclose, thereby evading Apple’s procedure to disable system access.

 Legal Action & Remedy Sought

In its lawsuit, Apple is seeking a court order compelling Liu to return the misappropriated materials and submit his personal cloud accounts and devices for inspection. The company is also pursuing unspecified damages for breach of contract and trade-secret misappropriation.

Apple clarified that Snap Inc. is not named in the lawsuit and that no allegations of wrongdoing have been made against the company. Snap issued a statement indicating it has “no reason to believe” Liu’s conduct at Snap is related to the alleged misconduct.

Why It Matters

• Insider Threats: The case highlights risks posed by departing employees with privileged access—especially in sensitive, competitive fields like augmented reality.

• Apple’s Secretive Culture: This lawsuit is the latest in Apple’s aggressive history of protecting intellectual property—following recent cases involving leaked Car projects, driverless tech, and Vision Pro leaks.

• AR Race Intensifies: The dispute emerges amid fierce competition in spatial computing—as companies race to launch the next generation of mixed‑reality devices.

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