Waymo does no longer have the Fifth Amendment as an impediment in receiving crucial documents in its legal fight against Uber.
The battle between Waymo and Uber started in February 2017. This was when Waymo sued the ride-hailing organization and its subsidiary company, Otto, for illegally taking trade secrets. The stolen patents were describing a top-notch method for enhancing the performance of self-driving cars. Anthony Levandowski is the main character in the legal battle. Until recently, he invoked his right to the Fifth Amendment to keep some of his files confidential. These documents would probably incriminate the engineer of stealing information from Waymo. However, the court has just denied Levandowski’s defensive strategy.
The Crucial Document Is an Agreement between Uber Lawyers and Levandowski
At the beginning of the year, Google began a legal battle against Uber. The ride-hailing organization started off its own self-driving unit. However, it was Anthony Levandowski who took control of the helm. The main concern sprang from the fact that the professional used to work for Google as well and manage a similar project.
In the wake of his career at Uber, Levandowski signed a binding agreement with the company’s lawyers. The document might have required Uber to protect its employee in case of a lawsuit concerning Otto. As a consequence, Waymo asked the defendant in court to reveal this contract as an important piece in the lawsuit. Until recently, Levandowski managed to keep these files private. He invoked the Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination to justify his refusal to show off the controversial papers.
By Abolishing the Use of Fifth Amendment, Waymo Can Ask for Further Documents
However, as of April 26, the court refused to grant Uber engineer the right to invoke the Fifth Amendment in this case. The United Stated Court of Appeals based its ruling on the fact that the district court has requested those particular files to build up the case.
“We are not persuaded that the district court erred in its ruling requiring defendants to produce an unredacted privilege log.”
Moreover, this recent Uber defeat makes way for a larger array of options that favors Waymo. The company has now the right to ask for a copy of the due diligence that Uber signed before acquiring Otto. Waymo believes that this document might specifically mention that the company was aware of stolen data before purchasing the company. On the other hand, Uber denies any allegations that incriminate it of loading any confidential files from Waymo into one of its computers. As such, its lidar technology for self-driving cars used only in-house resources.
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