Google has initiated legal proceedings against a former employee, Harshit Roy, accusing him of exposing confidential details about its Pixel chip designs. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, alleges Roy, who worked as a semiconductor engineer in Bengaluru, India, from 2020 to 2024, violated his confidentiality agreement by leaking sensitive information related to Google’s system-on-chips (SoCs) for Pixel devices.

According to court documents, Roy’s role involved working on next-generation chips powering Google’s smartphones, tablets, and wearables. In December 2023, Google discovered that Roy had taken unauthorized photos of proprietary materials.

Despite resolving the issue at the time, Roy left the company in March 2024 to pursue doctoral studies at the University of Texas at Austin, taking his corporate laptop with him.

After his departure, Roy allegedly began sharing confidential documents and photos on platforms like LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter). His posts reportedly included quips such as “empires fall and so will you,” alongside detailed images of Pixel SoC schematics. Google claims it issued takedown requests and attempted to resolve the matter privately, but Roy allegedly ignored these efforts and continued releasing sensitive information.

In its lawsuit, Google accused Roy of leaking 158 photos, including detailed schematics, roadmaps, and proprietary designs for Pixel’s audio, video, and security features. The tech giant asserts that Roy’s actions violate the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) and the Texas Uniform Trade Secrets Act (TUTSA), given his current residency in Texas. Google seeks monetary damages and a court order barring Roy from further disclosures.

The case underscores the challenges tech companies face in protecting intellectual property amidst global operations. As Google pursues legal recourse, the outcome could set a precedent for safeguarding trade secrets in the tech industry.