Jawbone sues Fitbit for poaching employees with access to confidential information

Fitness wearable maker Jawbone has sued rival company Fitbit over claims that the latter poached employees with access to sensitive information about Jawbone's upcoming products. As reported by The New York Times:

Jawbone sued Fitbit in California State Court here on Wednesday, accusing its rival of "systematically plundering" confidential information by poaching employees who improperly downloaded sensitive materials shortly before leaving.

The report goes on to mention that the claims include mentions of former Jawbone employees forwarding and downloading highly confidential information about company products to personal email accounts and thumb drives before they left:

Another employee who specialized in audio products, Patrick Narron, told Jawbone on April 8 that he planned to leave in two weeks to take another job — but did not disclose that he was heading to Fitbit, and was allowed to stay. The complaint claims that Mr. Narron sent confidential information about future products to his personal email address several times, in violation of corporate policy.

Jawbone and Fitbit are two of the biggest names in the competitive fitness wearable space. As the fierce rivals go to court, this will definitely be an interesting saga to watch unfold if the claims hold up.

Source: The New York Times; Via: Re/Code

Dan Thorp-Lancaster

Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the former Editor-in-Chief of Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl