Google self-driving car theft case progresses: Uber engineer may face criminal charges

Anthony Levandowski, the man at the center of Alphabet Inc.’s self-driving car unit Waymo’s lawsuit against Uber Technologies Inc. for allegedly stealing self-driving car trade secrets, could face criminal charges, according to a court record obtained by Bloomberg.

Anthony Lewandowski

Lawyers for Levandowski, who left Alphabet's self-driving car unit Waymo last year and is currently head of Uber's self-driving car program, told a federal judge in San Francisco that his client has a Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself.

But prosecutor Miles Ehrlich told U.S. Judge William Alsup, court records show, "Given the nature of the allegations in this case, we believe there may be criminal conduct. That's why we stepped in to advise them."

Euler said no subpoena has been issued for Lewandowski.

The case was initiated in February this year. Uber and its acquired self-driving car company Otto both denied stealing Waymo's intellectual property.

"We look forward to our first public response to this case on Friday, April 7," Uber deputy general counsel Angela Padilla said in a statement. "We are also confident that Waymo's allegations against Uber are without merit and that Anthony Levandowski did not use any Google documents while working at Otto or Uber."

Waymo declined to comment.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.