Baidu sues its former SVP for stealing self-driving trade secrets and using them in his US-based startup

Baidu is suing its former senior vice-president (SVP) for RMB 50 million for stealing its autonomous driving trade secrets and using them to fuel its new venture which is now Baidu’s direct competitor in the self-driving field. Wang Jin was previously posted as the general manager of Baidu’s autonomous driving unit and many of Baidu’s achievements in this field were made during his tenure.

Aside from the RMB 50 million compensation, Baidu has requested that Wang stops using Baidu’s self-driving commercial secrets in competing against them, NetEase has reported (in Chinese). The company is saying that Wang Jin agreed to a non-compete clause and obliged himself to confidentiality in his contract.

Baidu has confirmed the news for TechNode saying that the case is currently in judicial process. The case has been brought up in front of Beijing’s Intellectual Property court, according to media.

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