Uber admits it knew ex-Google engineer kept trade secrets

Uber admitted that it hired a former Google employee despite being warned that he possessed sensitive documents from the Silicon Valley giant, adding a new twist to a court battle over trade secrets. Waymo, the self-driving car developer created by Alphabet's (GOOGL) Google, has accused Uber of using stolen trade secrets in its own software that would serve as the backbone of autonomous vehicles. Uber has denied the charges. However, the ride-sharing company fired Anthony Levandowski, the ex-Google engineer and Uber executive, for failing to cooperate with an internal investigation. Waymo's lawsuit maintains that Uber then transplanted the intellectual property allegedly stolen by Levandowski into its own fleet of self-driving vehicles -- a charge that Uber has adamantly denied since Waymo filed its complaint in federal court four months ago.