Apple accused the company of stealing its trade secrets, but now plans to settle the lawsuit

Apple Inc plans to settle a lawsuit accusing tech startup Rivos of stealing its trade secrets related to computer chip technology, according to a joint court filing Friday in California federal court.

The companies told the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California that they have “entered into an agreement that may resolve the case” and that the agreement allows Apple to inspect Rivos’ systems and recover any confidential information.

Representatives for Apple and Rivos did not immediately respond to requests for comment or more information about the settlement.

Apple sued “stealth” startup Rivos in 2022. Mountain View, Calif.-based Rivos poached dozens of engineers and used their confidential information to develop competing “system-on-a-chip” (SoC) technology, the company said.

An SoC is an integrated circuit that contains multiple computer components, including a central processing unit and a graphics processing unit, in a single chip. Apple said in the lawsuit that it spent billions of dollars and more than a decade of research on SoC designs and that they “revolutionized the world of personal and mobile computing.”

Rieves denied the accusations and claimed that Apple “has sought to punish Rieves and any Apple employees who might seek to work there from the moment Apple learned of the promising startup.” Last September, it Countersued Apple for unfair competition.

Apple settled claims last month in a case against six former employees who left the company to join Rivos.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a Yonhap news agency feed – Reuters)