Tag: alleges
FAA failed to fully assess environmental effects of Starship, lawsuit alleges
A coalition of advocacy groups has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) over its handling of the environmental assessment of SpaceX’s launch plans in southeast Texas. The FAA gave the green-light to SpaceX’s Starship launch program last summer, with the stipulation that the company perform a series of measures to mitigate […]
FAA failed to fully assess environmental effects of Starship, lawsuit alleges by Aria Alamalhodaei originally published on TechCrunch
Apple Poached Employees and Used Underhanded Tactics to Steal Trade Secrets, Alleges Masimo
For a refresher, Masimo has accused Apple of poaching employees and stealing trade secrets for the Apple Watch. Masimo believes that Apple developed five pulse oximetry patents using trade information stolen from Masimo. Masimo wants co-ownership of the patents and a payout of $3.1 billion. It is worth noting that Masimo previously targeted Apple with patent infringement claims, but the United States Patent and Trademark Office invalidated all but two of the patents, which is when Masimo turned to theft of trade secrets.
Apple hired Masimo Chief Medical Officer Michael O’Reilly in July 2013 and Cercacor Chief Technical Officer Marcelo Lamego in early 2014 (Cercacor is a Masimo spinoff company) to work on the Apple Watch. Masimo claims that Apple was deliberately stealing employees and that Lamego in particular shared secret Masimo information with Apple, while Apple claims that the hiring of the two had nothing to do with their prior experience at Masimo and was based on their talent. Apple maintains that the former Masimo employees did not divulge Masimo’s intellectual property rights when they worked on the Apple Watch, despite Masimo’s accusations.
Lamego was only at Apple for six months, but he filed for 12 patents in that time and was named as an inventor on several future Apple patents. He worked on the same kind of sensor that he had worked on at Masimo, which Masimo has taken issue with. Lamego was hired at the recommendation of O’Reilly, who at the time warned Apple that “most of his knowledge” would be “considered confidential information of Cercacor or Masimo.” Apple, meanwhile, pointed to an email Lamego sent to Apple CEO Tim Cook where he said that he could “add significant value” to Apple without relying on the work he did for Masimo. Hiring emails suggest that Apple was interested in his “specialized experience” needed for Apple Watch sensors.
Lamego claims that when he worked on the Apple Watch’s heart rate detection algorithm, he had to “exercise extra care to avoid IP conflict.” Lamego said that his work for Apple was stunted after Masimo sent a threatening letter not long after his hiring, which caused Apple to pull back on the resources provided to him. He ultimately left, but Masimo maintains that what he shared with Apple during that time was instrumental to the development of the Apple Watch. The patents that were issued to Apple in 2019 were “on [Masimo’s] stuff,” according to Masimo CEO Joe Kiani.
Prior to when Lamego worked at the company, Apple’s internal emails reflected trouble with the development on the Apple Watch. “Frankly, I think this is a mess,” wrote now-retired Apple executive Bob Mansfield about early work on the Apple Watch sensor, adding that the sensor would “fail” on its “current path.” Apple vice president of corporate development Adrian Perica also expressed concerns about the device, writing that the Apple Watch was “already way behind” other wearables on the market.
Masimo presented emails between Mansfield and Perica, who discussed acquiring Masimo during the time period when the Apple Watch was in development. Apple decided against it because the company’s large size isn’t Apple’s “style” and wouldn’t “accelerate [Apple’s] roadmaps and products,” according to Perica. Perica at one point referred to extending an “olive branch” to Masimo by offering tickets to an Apple event, which Masimo lawyers cited as evidence that Apple knew it had wronged Masimo in some way.
Apple claims that Masimo is targeting it with the lawsuit because Masimo saw the success of the Apple Watch and decided to make its own smart watch. Masimo has largely been focused on large medical devices created for hospitals rather than wearables. In a trial brief, Apple said that what Masimo claims are “trade secrets” are ideas “long known and used by multiple companies.”
The eight-person jury hearing the case is expected to begin deliberations as soon as next week as Apple and Masimo finish their legal arguments. The U.S. International Trade Commission has already ruled that Apple infringed on Masimo patents with the Apple Watch, a ruling that Apple is fighting.
This article, “Apple Poached Employees and Used Underhanded Tactics to Steal Trade Secrets, Alleges Masimo” first appeared on MacRumors.com
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DOJ alleges China used a troll farm to target Chinese government critics in the US
In an 89-page complaint unsealed on Monday, the Justice Department alleges 34 current and former members of China’s 912 Special Project Working Group carried out a multi-year campaign to harass critics of Xi Jinping’s regime and discredit American policies. The task force, part of China’s domestic security agency, created thousands of fake social media profiles, including on Twitter and Facebook, to target Chinese dissidents in the US.
Judging from screenshots shared by the Justice Department, many of the profiles did not have more than a dozen accounts following them, but a common thread among them is that they tried to pass as authentic American voices. As The Wall Street Journal points out, one account claimed to be “Susan Miller,” a woman from New York. Another said they were “Julie Torres,” a native of Wisconsin. According to the Justice Department, China’s Ministry of Public Security tracked the performance of the agents involved in the operation and rewarded those who successfully ran multiple online personas without being detected by Twitter and Facebook.
In addition to targeting Chinese dissidents, the group, taking a page from Russia’s disinformation playbook, sought to discredit the US government by exploiting divisions among the American public. For instance, it spread disinformation about George Floyd, the Black Man whose murder by Minneapolis police in 2020 sparked Black Lives Matter protests across the country. The group also amplified Russian propaganda about the war in Ukraine.
“As alleged, the PRC government deploys its national police and the 912 Special Project Working Group not as an instrument to uphold the law and protect public safety, but rather as a troll farm that attacks persons in our country for exercising free speech in a manner that the PRC government finds disagreeable, and also spreads propaganda whose sole purpose is to sow divisions within the United States,” said US attorney Breon Peace, referring to the acronym for the People’s Republic of China.
According to the Justice Department, all 34 of the agents remain at large. This isn’t the first time the US has detailed an effort by China to target overseas dissidents. At the end of last year, US Attorney General Merrick Garland detailed a case involving a multi-year campaign by Chinese operatives to force a US resident to return to China.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/doj-alleges-china-used-a-troll-farm-to-target-chinese-government-critics-in-the-us-201403325.html?src=rss
You Don’t Say: Lawsuit Alleges Employees at Facebook, Snap, and TikTok Knew Social Media Was Addictive
An unsealed lawsuit involving the titans of social media, including Meta, Snap, ByteDance, Google, and their respective companies and employees, alleges they were all privy to the addictive nature of social media—surprising no one.
Drew Sidora Divorce Drama: RHOA Star Alleges Husband is a Serial Cheater & Abuser
Season 15 of the ‘Real Housewives of Atlanta’ hasn’t hit screens yet, however, the drama is spilling onto newsfeeds already after news of Drew Sidora‘s divorce hit the wire.
As reported, the actress/reality star filed for divorce from her husband Ralph Pittman – in a decisive move to end their 8-year marriage.
Now,
The post Drew Sidora Divorce Drama: RHOA Star Alleges Husband is a Serial Cheater & Abuser appeared first on ..::That Grape Juice.net::.. – Thirsty?.
Shell’s Actual Spending on Renewables is Fraction of What It Claims, Group Alleges
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Twitter Still Has Security Flaws After Musk Takeover, Whistleblower Alleges – CNET
SEC Alleges Gemini, Genesis Sold Unregistered Securities
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