Apple and A123 Systems are close to reaching a settlement in an ongoing battery engineer poaching lawsuit between the two companies, according to The Boston Globe. A123 Systems, an advanced battery manufacturer, originally filed suit against Apple in February for poaching key battery engineering employees to join its own automative team, including former chief technology officer Mujeeb Ijaz.
"On Tuesday, a federal judge granted A123 more time to finalize the settlement with Apple," reports The Boston Globe. "In a court filing, the two sides reported that they 'have reached an agreement, signed a term sheet, and are in the process of drafting a final settlement agreement.'"
Apple's much-rumored automotive team reportedly consists of hundreds of employees, including several former Tesla, Ford and GM employees and other talent from smaller firms such as A123 Systems, MIT Motorsports, Ogin, Autoliv, Concept Systems and General Dynamics. The team is believed to be working on an auto-related project, possibly involving an electric and potentially autonomous vehicle.
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It was reported in late February that Apple is also looking to hire Samsung employees with expertise in battery technology, confirmed by a Samsung official that said some personnel have been hired by the iPhone maker. Apple reportedly has a "top-secret research lab" located near its Cupertino-based headquarters for its automotive project, but likely remains in the early stages of research and development.
Rumors about the so-called "Apple car" have gained momentum since camera-equipped Dodge Caravans leased to Apple started appearing in California earlier this year. The first sightings of the vans were actually in New York last summer, with vehicles spotted in Manhattan and Brooklyn in August and September respectively. The vans have since been spotted in at least six other states.
MacRumors has been tracking the Apple vans, which are likely being used for an unrelated Street View-like mapping project, for the past several months. We have created an interactive Google Maps tracker of the van sightings featuring pins that can be clicked on to view a photo or video of each van. To date, there have been over 30 sightings spanning Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Nevada, New York and Texas.
Top Rated Comments
What is the message here -- if you hire someone you get sued and if you agree not to hire someone you get sued. Seems strange. There must be more to this story -- MR give us a few more details.
Not sure if serious. Pretty funny either way. Millions.:rolleyes:
That original lawsuit was about specific tech companies colluding to stifle the employment and salary opportunities of their employees. The A123 lawsuit was about hiring employees with specific non-compete contracts.
You can't tie the two issues together because they have nothing to do with each other. Here are your details.
A123: https://www.macrumors.com/2015/02/18/apple-battery-poaching-lawsuit/
Anti-poaching: https://www.macrumors.com/2015/01/14/apple-settles-anti-poaching-lawsuit/
But then again, there will always be people on this board that will defend Apple 'til the end of time.
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Under tort law, if you actively seek to employ an employee than has signed a non-compete agreement, you are committing tortious interference.
Every time I read Nick's want list description, I can't get past thinking of the Pontiac Aztek Tent Trailer. You're right about thousands. If it sold more than 10K before being discontinued I would be shocked.
So what is the big difference?? The non-compete agreement was between the "poached employee" and A123 - not Apple. It fully appears that the courts want it both ways.
Perhaps Apple's deep pockets are the big difference.
If you hire an employee away that has signed a non-compete clause, you will get sued. Big difference