Googles Fight Against Uber Takes a Turn for the Criminal

[Sgent]

Source: Wired

This week, US District Court William Alsup made two decisive decisions in the lawsuit between Google’s autonomous vehicle spinoff Waymo and Uber. You know, the one accusing Levandowski of swiping 14,000 confidential documents from and taking them with him to Uber.

First, Alsup rebuffed Uber’s efforts to settle the case in arbitration, so the drama will play out publicly during a trial. Waymo loved that. “We welcome the court’s decision today, and we look forward to holding Uber responsible in court for its misconduct,” it said in a statement.

More troubling for Levandowski, Alsup referred the case to the US Attorney’s office “for investigation of possible theft of trade secrets based on the evidentiary record supplied thus far.” Translated from legalese, Alsup thinks something criminal might have happened here and that the feds ought to take a look. That raises the possibility of prison time for Levandowski.

Such a referral is “quite, quite rare,” says Peter Toren, an intellectual property lawyer and former Department of Justice attorney. “For a judge to do that, he must believe there’s a lot of smoke, if not fire, for criminal violations.”



Read more: https://www.wired.com/2017/05/googles-fight-uber-takes-turn-criminal/

[FrodosNewPet]

1. Travis Kalanick called autonomous vehicles an exisential requirement for Uber

So if they cannot continue developing, testing, and deploying them, they are going to be in a world of hurt soon.
[hr]
Travis Kalanick on Uber's bet on self-driving cars: 'I can't be wrong'

http://www.businessinsider.com/travis-kalanick-interview-on-self-driving-cars-future-driver-jobs-2016-8

Biz Carson | Aug. 18, 2016, 5:12 PM

Biz Carson: You called the development of autonomous vehicles existential to the company, and you've also called buying Otto another existential move. So what is so existential about it and where is that threat really coming from?

Kalanick: I think it starts with understanding that the world is going to go self-driving and autonomous. Because, well, a million fewer people are going to die a year. Traffic in all cities will be gone. Significantly reduced pollution and trillions of hours will be given back to people — quality of life goes way up. Once you go, "All right, there's a lot of upsides there" and you have folks like the folks in Mountain View, [California,] a few different companies working hard on this problem, this thing is going to happen.

So if that's happening, what would happen if we weren't a part of that future? If we weren't part of the autonomy thing? Then the future passes us by, basically, in a very expeditious and efficient way.

~ snip ~

[FrodosNewPet]

2. Legal, image woes mount for Uber

Legal, image woes mount for Uber

Order from federal judge alerts prosecutors to possible criminal wrongdoing

https://www.toledoblade.com/business/2017/05/12/Criminal-allegations-legal-and-image-woes-mount-for-Uber-Order-from-federal-judge-alerts-prosecutors-to-possible-criminal-wrongdoing.html

ASSOCIATED PRESS | May 12, 2017

~ snip ~

Experts say prosecutors are likely to follow up on Alsup’s order and launch an investigation. The probe, combined with other legal and image woes, will reduce Uber’s value and in the worst case could threaten the San Francisco company’s existence if investors leave, criminal charges bring huge fines and legal action stalls autonomous car research, the experts say.

~ snip ~

Alsup, 71, has gained a reputation as a no-nonsense judge since he was appointed to the bench in 1999 by President Bill Clinton. The Harvard Law graduate has experience in trials involving high-profile technology companies, including a 2012 patent and copyright infringement case pitting Oracle against Google.

For a judge to take such a public step, he must have more than just a whiff of criminal activity, legal experts say. Prosecutors get many tips, but rarely do they come from a judge who is familiar with evidence and the legal elements of what is a crime.

“This is not some private informant that slipped an envelope under the door at midnight. This is public and it’s a judge,” said Erik Gordon, a law and business professor at the University of Michigan.

~ snip ~