Chip maker AMD files suit against four ex-employees, alleging that they stole more than 100,000 files.
When four employees, including ex-VP in charge of strategic development Robert Feldstein, jumped ship to work at NVIDIA, no doubt their employer AMD wished them all the best, though possibly in a gritted-teeth sort of way. That was before AMD noticed that more than 100,000 proprietary files had been downloaded and extracted from AMD, allegedly by those same ex-employees, and taken to their new employer.
"The names of [the 100,000+] identified and transferred files," AMD alleges in its lawsuit, "match identically or very closely to the names of files on their AMD systems that include obviously confidential, proprietary and/or trade secret materials relating to developing technology and/or highly confidential business strategy ... AMD must take action to stop this conduct, which could unfairly affect the market place in a fast-paced, ultra-competitive, and highly-sophisticated technical industry."
A restraining order has since been slapped on the AMD four, in an effort to prevent them from destroying the evidence, and from trying to tempt other AMD employees to a new home. Some of the four have also been accused of breach of contract, in that they agreed, when they signed up with AMD, not to try to solicit employees to leave AMD within two years of the termination of their employment.
Among other relief, AMD seeks compensation, the actual amount of which is to be decided at trial.