Uber is being ordered to produce a document that may help shed light on whether the company knew it possessed stolen Alphabet technology.
Uber has been ordered to produce a key document in Alphabet’s lawsuit against the company
But it’s still not clear whether Alphabet will get the full due diligence report.
Uber came under scrutiny after it acquired self-driving trucking startup Otto, a business founded by Anthony Levandowski, who previously led Alphabet’s autonomous vehicle efforts. Alphabet claims Levandowski stole 14,000 proprietary files before leaving to start Otto and is suing Uber over allegations the ride-hailing startup misappropriated that technology.
As part of Uber’s acquisition of Otto, it commissioned a due diligence report, which could reveal if Uber was aware of any Alphabet technology Levandowski may have had in his possession. Alphabet has been pushing for months for Uber to release the report, but Uber has objected to a court order to do so.
This latest order is a small win for Alphabet in its pursuit of the report, though Uber could still object to the latest court order.
The document in question is a letter of agreement pertaining to Levandowski between Uber attorney John Gardner and Stroz Friedberg, the legal services firm that conducted the due diligence report.
A due diligence report is conducted by a third party as part of an acquisition. It looks at finances, legal issues and other details of the company that is being acquired.
Alphabet believes that through conducting the due diligence report of Otto, Uber would have been made aware of the documents Levandowski allegedly stole, which would mean Uber knew it was acquiring a company that possessed stolen technology.
Update: The letter could also prove that Uber took steps to prevent any such information made its way to the company, accoridng to a source close to the matter. The source said the Stroz letter focuses on the protocol by which Levandowski may have shared information with the firm, but does not discuss any actual information that was shared.
Recode has reached out to Alphabet and Uber for comment.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
By Theodore Schleifer
By Johana Bhuiyan
