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Waymo v. Uber Jury Trial Begins

posted by martyb on Monday February 05 2018, @05:49PM   
from the lawyers-will-be-the-only-winners dept.

takyon writes:

The Waymo v. Uber jury trial is set to begin Monday and is expected to end during the week of February 19. It's not a matter of good vs. evil:

"The trial will be a trial on Waymo's claims of trade secret misappropriation, not a trial on Uber's litigation practices or corporate culture," Judge Alsup wrote on January 30.

[...] Alsup went on to say that both sides have engaged in "half-truths and other slick litigation conduct" and that Waymo, which has "whined—often without good reason—at every turn in this case," essentially needs to put up or shut up.

"To repeat, the central issue in this case remains whether or not Uber misappropriated Waymo's trade secrets, not whether or not Uber is an evil corporation," the judge continued. "Waymo's decision to devote so much time and effort to pursuing matters with so little connection to the merits raises the troubling possibility that Waymo is unwilling or unable to prove up a solid case on the merits and instead seeks to inflame the jury against Uber with a litany of supposed bad acts."

Also at The Verge and FT (paywalled).

Previously: Waymo v. Uber Continues, Will Not Move to Arbitration
Waymo's Case Against Uber "Shrinks" After Trade Secret Claim Thrown Out
Uber v. Waymo Trial Delayed Because Uber Withheld Evidence
A Spectator Who Threw A Wrench In The Waymo/Uber Lawsuit

Related: Uber Letter Alleges Surveillance on Politicians and Competitors
The Fall of Uber CEO Travis Kalanick
Waymo Orders Thousands More Chrysler Pacifica Minivans for Driverless Fleet

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Original Submission

• SUCK IT BOSTONSUCK IT BOSTON (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 05 2018, @06:11PM (2 children)

  by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 05 2018, @06:11PM (#633362)

  I am looking forward to self driving cars, and keep hoping they will get here before my parents lose their ability to safely drive themselves.

  Back in the mid 70's there was a 'personal rapid transport' or PRT system proposed which was individual 'cars' on a rail system that were smart enough to stop at a station. The idea was that the rail line had switches where a PRT unit (4 or 8 passenger) could go into a station when called with an elevator like button. You would get in, and then it would head out on the track and not stop again until your destination station.

  The idea was that it eliminated the two biggest issues with 'public transportation' which were pickup and drop off schedules that forced waits when you transferred from one line to another, and the fact that the train/bus would make all stops forcing it to be slower than a point to point bus/train.

  I believe you could implement that system safely on a dedicated 'self driving car' road. And such roads would be less expensive to build than a rail infrastructure.

  • Re:SUCK IT BOSTON(Score: 1) by tftp on Monday February 05 2018, @06:46PM

    by tftp (806) on Monday February 05 2018, @06:46PM (#633377) Homepage

    I believe you could implement that system safely on a dedicated 'self driving car' road. And such roads would be less expensive to build than a rail infrastructure.

    Most cities would express a certain amount of shock when tasked with construction of a parallel road network. However a rail system can be elevated, above the roads.

    But it's likely history now. The industry is jumping headfirst into the robot car business on mixed roads. It's unavoidable anyway.

    Parent

  • Re:SUCK IT BOSTON(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 06 2018, @12:02AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 06 2018, @12:02AM (#633546)

    Popular Science ran this article on the UrbMobile in Oct 1967...this might be the first PRT (personal rapid transit) concept?
        https://books.google.com/books?id=1SoDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA75&dq=Urb+Mobile+cornell [google.com]
    Many features from this concept have been picked up by newer PRT designs.

    Parent

• Way of the Future(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 05 2018, @09:05PM

  by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 05 2018, @09:05PM (#633430)

  https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2018/02/05/self-driving-car-trial-shows-silicon-valleys-sharp-elbows-second-place-first-loser/306953002/ [usatoday.com]

  Levandowski joined Uber when Kalanick paid around $680 million for his self-driving truck company, Otto, in August 2016. In May 2017, Levandowski was fired after declining to cooperate with an investigation into Waymo's claims. He has since surfaced as founder of Way of the Future, a new religion dedicated to worshiping artificial intelligence.

• if it ain't secretif it ain't secret (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday February 05 2018, @11:39PM (1 child)

  by Runaway1956 (2926) on Monday February 05 2018, @11:39PM (#633537) Journal

  You can't call it a trade secret if it isn't secret. Obviously, this secret is out of the bag. The recipe/formula for Coca Cola is a pretty secret trade secret. I guess Kentucky Fried is still kinda secret. Uber and Waymo have very few, if any secrets.

  --
  We're gonna be able to vacation in Gaza, Cuba, Venezuela, Iran and maybe Minnesota soon. Incredible times.

  • Re:if it ain't secret(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 06 2018, @07:16AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 06 2018, @07:16AM (#633676)

    Trade secrets obviously have to be protected in some way, and that's what this case is about. Misappropriation of trade secrets is a crime that could put someone behind bars for up to ten years (18 U.S.C. § 1832) or be liable for statutory damages of up to $5 million, and there's punitive damages too. No, Uber and Waymo still have plenty of secrets I think. The names and addresses of their drivers, their clients, the places their drivers have taken their clients and so forth, all of those fall under the rubric of their trade secrets.

    Parent