Judge Rules Uber Can Continue Self-Driving Development

The U.S. judge presiding over Waymo’s ongoing lawsuit with Uber has said that the ride-hailing service can continue to develop self-driving technologies but that it must return stolen confidential materials to Alphabet.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup said that Uber knew, or should have been aware, that ex-Google engineer Anthony Levandowski downloaded confidential files from his former employer and brought them to Uber. The judge also said that some of the intellectual property found in the files from Waymo had “seeped into” Uber’s autonomous tech developments.

“The bottom line is the evidence indicates that Uber hired Levandowski even though it knew or should have known that he possessed over 14,000 confidential Waymo files likely containing Waymo’s intellectual property,” Alsup wrote.

Alsup ordered Uber return all of the documents to Waymo by May 31 and said that they cannot be used by Levandowski or any other Uber employees.

Additionally, Uber has been instructed to complete an investigation into the 14,000 stolen documents and also provide Waymo with a log of communication between Uber and Levandowski regarding LiDAR. Levandowski has also been ordered not to be involved in the company’s use of LiDAR.

According to the judge, “few” of Waymo’s alleged trade secrets were traced to Uber’s autonomous technology.

“We are pleased with the court’s ruling that Uber can continue building and utilizing all of its self-driving technology, including our innovation around LiDAR,” Uber spokeswoman Chelsea Kohler told Reuters.

This isn’t the end of the saga however. Yesterday, Alsup ordered federal prosecutors to investigate possible trade secret theft in the case.