Tech giant Nvidia is facing a lawsuit filed by car technology firm Valeo, alleging that a senior Nvidia staff member, Mohammad Moniruzzaman, stole Valeo’s technology secrets during an online presentation. During a Microsoft Teams meeting in March 2022, the lawsuit claims that Moniruzzaman inadvertently displayed a file containing the source code behind Valeo’s parking and driving assistance software.
Valeo contends that Moniruzzaman stole gigabytes of data in 2021 while working for the German arm of the French firm before joining Nvidia later that year. German authorities convicted Moniruzzaman in September 2023 over unlawfully holding the data.
The lawsuit accuses Nvidia of benefiting financially from the “stolen trade secrets,” alleging that the company saved millions of dollars in development costs. Valeo seeks significant damages and an injunction prohibiting Nvidia and its affiliates from using its code. The lawsuit was filed in a California court, where Nvidia is headquartered.
The complaint outlines the sequence of events, noting that during the Teams call, Moniruzzaman minimized the app he was using. Still, his shared screen continued to display the file, allowing Valeo participants to recognize the source code. Valeo claims that Nvidia was not aware that Moniruzzaman had the stolen tech secrets.
In a letter submitted with the lawsuit, Nvidia’s lawyers stated that the tech giant learned of Moniruzzaman’s actions only in May 2022, prompting the company to cooperate fully and take concrete steps to protect Valeo’s rights. The lawsuit seeks damages for Nvidia’s alleged use of stolen trade secrets and the impact on the value of Valeo’s proprietary software. It emphasizes the financial gains Nvidia enjoyed by developing a competing product using stolen tech secrets.
The legal action highlights the importance of protecting intellectual property and trade secrets in the tech industry, where innovation and proprietary technology play a crucial role. The outcome of this case will likely have implications for how companies handle data security and intellectual property protection, especially in collaborative projects involving joint development efforts.
