A federal judge didn't buy Oppo's OpenAI-like arguments about IP theft by an engineer that allegedly took Apple Watch trade secrets to Oppo.

In August 2025, Apple accused ex-employee Chen Shi of sharing confidential Apple Watch details with Chinese rival Oppo. According to Courthouse News, he is accused of having done so in order to secure a job with what US District Judge Eumi Lee calls "a generous salary."

Now Judge Lee has ruled that the case can proceed. Specifically, she said that Apple's claims of breach of contract alone are sufficient that she would not dismiss the case.

In her six-page ruling, Judge Lee uses the word "plausibly" to describe Apple's allegations 14 times. In a similar move to OpenAI in its current case with Apple, Oppo argued that the information in question was not a trade secret.

Judge Lee ruled that Apple has made specific allegations concerning at least one trade secret.

Oppo's argument was also that Apple uses the term trade secret so broadly that Shi "cannot practice as an engineer in the health-sensing field without violating it."

Judge Lee disagreed, saying that the Intellectual Property Agreement (IPA) that Shi signed with Apple only precludes him from disclosing confidential company information.

How this started

As detailed in the ruling, Apple alleges that, "late at night just three days before leaving Apple, Dr Shi downloaded 63 documents," which he transferred to a USB drive. Prior to leaving, he also "set up and attended dozens of one-on-one meetings with Apple Watch technical team members to learn about their ongoing research."

Separately, it's been alleged that Shi told Apple he was leaving to care for family members, and not that he was joining Oppo. He's also accused of having searched online for ways to cover up his actions, such as searching for "can somebody see if I've opened a file on a shared drive."

Oppo is not a well-known name in the US. But, its smartwatches are a key rival to the Apple Watch in China.

What happens next

Defendants Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp., Ltd. and InnoPeak Technology, Inc. now have until October 21, 2026, to file a responsive pleading. That means filing specific defenses against Apple's allegations.

That's significant because up to now, Oppo has reportedly failed to cooperate with discovery. The court ordered Oppo to comply by October 31, 2025.

There was also a deadline for Shi to take part in a deposition, but he asked for it to be extended. Reportedly around this time he had been diagnosed with a condition that could worsen if he were in "a lengthy, high-stress, and adversarial proceeding."

It's not clear whether that deposition has been rescheduled. It does appear, though, that Oppo has continued to delay complying with the discovery order.

That delay is not part of the new ruling about Apple having plausible reason to sue. Separately, Apple claimed in March 2026 that it needed an emergency injunction to prevent Oppo deleting evidence.

Judge Lee is reportedly still considering this request. What's most likely to happen next, then, is that she will rule over that preliminary injunction.

Other than the October 21, 2026 deadline for responsive pleading, no further dates regarding the case have been published.

Judge Lee is also presiding over a separate iCloud case. In 2025, she ruled in favor of consumers pressing for a case to be heard against Apple.