Apple Inc. has filed a lawsuit in federal court in San Jose accusing former Apple Watch engineer Chen Shi of stealing trade secrets and providing them to Chinese smartphone manufacturer Oppo and its U.S. research center, InnoPeak Technology. The complaint alleges that Shi, a sensor systems architect on the Apple Watch team, downloaded 63 confidential documents related to health-sensing technology shortly before resigning from Apple in June 2023 and joining Oppo. Apple claims Oppo actively poached Shi and encouraged the theft of proprietary information to advance its position in the smartwatch market. Oppo has denied the allegations, stating that it did not steal any trade secrets. The legal action highlights ongoing concerns about intellectual property theft and corporate espionage in the technology sector.