In a recent lawsuit against tech giant Nvidia, car technology firm Valeo alleges that a senior staff member, Mohammad Moniruzzaman, inadvertently exposed stolen trade secrets during an online presentation. The incident occurred when Moniruzzaman, who had recently joined Nvidia from Valeo, shared his screen with a former employer’s team.
Valeo claims that he displayed a file containing the source code for its parking and driving assistance software, an area Nvidia was trying to expand into. The lawsuit asserts that Moniruzzaman’s actions were so brazen that the file path on his screen still read “ValeoDocs,” suggesting a deliberate theft.
German authorities convicted Moniruzzaman in September 2023 for unlawfully holding the data, leading Valeo to file a suit against Nvidia for benefiting financially from the stolen trade secrets. Valeo’s lawsuit seeks significant damages and an injunction to prohibit Nvidia and its affiliates from using the allegedly stolen code. The complaint, filed in a California court where Nvidia is headquartered, claims that Nvidia saved millions, possibly hundreds of millions, in development costs by utilizing Valeo’s trade secrets.
Valeo argues that Nvidia’s use of these stolen trade secrets to develop a competing product has diminished the value of its proprietary information. In response, Nvidia has claimed that it was unaware of Moniruzzaman’s possession of the data until May 2022 when he disclosed the investigation. The lawsuit sheds light on the risks associated with remote work and video conferencing, emphasizing the importance of safeguarding sensitive information during virtual presentations.
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