A Former Apple Engineer's 'Precious': Trade Secrets pilfered before Snap job

A Shadow of Doubt Falls on Cupertino

Hmph! News arrives from a realm of shiny devices and… well secrets. Apple a kingdom known for its walled gardens (and rather expensive apples I hear) has accused a former engineer one Di Liu of pilfering secrets before skipping off to Snap purveyors of… ephemeral images. One does not simply walk into Mordor… er Cupertino… and expect to waltz away with the company's precious knowledge does one?

Thousands of Documents...To Rule Them All?

It seems Mr. Liu in his final days at Apple downloaded thousands of documents a veritable mountain of information and stashed them away in his personal cloud accounts. Thousands you say? That's enough to make even a dragon hoard look meager. This is no mere casual glance at a blueprint; this is akin to Sauron attempting to download the entire library of Rivendell! The audacity!

A Two Week Transition or Two Weeks of Treachery?

Apple in its perhaps naive generosity granted Mr. Liu a customary two week transition period. Two weeks! Enough time to rewrite the entire Silmarillion let alone abscond with trade secrets. They lament they did not shut off his access to the accounts which leads to the old saying 'Fool of a Took!'. I mean… Fool of an Apple! Allowing the fox to guard the henhouse indeed.

Codenames and Conspiracies

The downloaded files they say were filled with codenames for Apple projects designs and supply chain information. Codenames! Such cloak and dagger dealings. One wonders if they were using Elvish to keep the secrets safe. Though as we know even the best enchantments can be broken.

A Snap Judgment?

Apple alleges that Mr. Liu might be tempted to use these secrets at Snap given his new role in AR product design. "The overlap... suggests..." Ah suggestion! The very air is thick with it. A whiff of treachery like the scent of orcs near the borders of Rohan. Though Snap denies any connection claiming they have no reason to believe the allegations are related to Mr. Liu's work with them.

Damages and Deletion: The Quest for Redress

Now Apple seeks damages and a forensic examination of Mr. Liu's devices to ensure the stolen information is deleted. A noble quest indeed. Like Frodo's journey to destroy the One Ring but with slightly less walking and considerably more lawyers. Whether they will succeed in retrieving their 'precious' remains to be seen. But remember even the smallest person can change the course of the future but it's more difficult if they are in a legal battle.