AMD Employee Charged With Stealing Intel Secrets 212
IWonderWhatICanPutInThisFieldWithoutBeingDeleted writes "A man who once worked for Intel and then jumped ship to join AMD has been accused of stealing his erstwhile employer's chip secrets. Federal detectives allege they discovered 19 CAD designs and more than 100 pages of confidential Intel documentation."
Re:... and AMD wouldn't even touch the info (Score:5, Insightful)
(AMD) would never touch the stolen info with a 10-foot pole.
Even if they couldn't directly plagiarize the information to enhance their current architecture (I understand there are a lot of very fundamental differences between them), it would be valuable to AMD if they could determine, for example, how fast Intel's next gen chip is going to be in order to make a product that would be able to compete better, even if it meant sacrificing margins.
Alleged motive: to impress his new employer (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:AMD and Intel? (Score:3, Insightful)
Which would you buy?
Re:Alleged motive: to impress his new employer (Score:1, Insightful)
I doubt "dumb" or "thief" was on his resumee.
Re:AMD and Intel? (Score:3, Insightful)
Yeah, I'm replying to myself here, but seriously, I'd sooner buy a twin-turbo Toyota Supra (even if it requires a little work on my part) before buying a Ferrari. I have an idea of what GP was trying to get at here, but I don't know that comparing motor companies had the intended (and likely abrasive toward AMD) effect. Perhaps comparing specific models would have though. ^_^ That said, I have no problems with having second best for far less, so AMD is a good option to me, personally (especially with Video cards).
Re:On the plus side... (Score:5, Insightful)
We all steal IP when we leave. Most of us do it in our heads however.
The part you missed... (Score:2, Insightful)
*ducks*
His resume (Score:4, Insightful)
I doubt "dumb" or "thief" was on his resumee.
No it was this:
Re:Alleged motive: to impress his new employer (Score:4, Insightful)
"Pani's alleged motive: to impress his new employer" ... because it would impress me to have a potential new hire admit he stole proprietary information from his prior employer...
I'd thank him, and not make an offer - because he's pretty much admitted if you hire him and he leaves your company, he'll take *your* proprietary information with him too!! LOL
Re:On the plus side... (Score:5, Insightful)
Oh holy spagetti monster, every IT person and CS person absolutely rapes the IP when they leave.
In my boxes that I used to clean out my desk is at least 30 confidential documents that were packed there by the moving company, (I got to keep my desk! that was cool!) and I know I have copies of all the code I wrote when I was there as well as all the SQL queries I wrote.
I have yet to meet someone that says, "I just left company X, no I don't have anything from my old job..." or " I cant fix that, I fixed that at company Y and they own the IP to that fix."
All of you rape and pillage IP when you leave. Accidentally or on purpose, you do it. Being a moron and trying to SELL that or taking it with malicious intent? that is the kicker. if he had it because that is how his desk was packed up for him then it's not his fault, nor is he liable for anything.
Re:... and AMD wouldn't even touch the info (Score:5, Insightful)
Certain political radicals would claim that capitalism is inherently dishonest and corrupt. Although there is plenty of that, they would be amazed at the degree of integrity required to run a successful business.
Such a foolish crime... (Score:4, Insightful)
Hell, after the Coca Cola incident [cnn.com] I would be fearful of having my new employer even know I have such information, let alone use it in some manner.
Re:... and AMD wouldn't even touch the info (Score:4, Insightful)
The irony is that his new employer (AMD) would never touch the stolen info with a 10-foot pole. The company I work with (also in the IT sector but not hardware) has very, very clear policies around competitive information. They know just how badly it would go for them if they made use of stolen information brought in by a new (or even existing) employee.
Only a complete and utter moron would come in with a stack of papers stolen from a competitor, I'd have him locked out of every system and escorted out the door before he could steal anything from our company. The problem is more if he's coming up with many great ideas, great analysis and great solutions - either you've scored one of those brilliant employees that drive a department or even division or he's using inside information, but there's no easy way to tell which. Or more likely, to suspect but just turn a blind eye and play completely surprised if shit hits the fan. I don't think the manager would go to legal unless it's so blatant he's sure the shit will hit the fan here and people would question why he didn't see the signs. As for legal, is that any surprise? Any lawyer that gave any other legal advice would probably be fired, disbarred and in jail.
Re:... and AMD wouldn't even touch the info (Score:5, Insightful)
[..] it would be valuable to AMD if they could determine, for example, how fast Intel's next gen chip is going to be in order to make a product that would be able to compete better, even if it meant sacrificing margins.
Help me explain your theory here. What you are suggesting is that AMD is working at less than full capacity because they don't know what Intel is prepping in the future? These two companies are bittersweet rivals and knowing that your opponent's product will be 200% faster than the previous one is not going to make AMD's scientists think harder.
Ignorance is bliss, I guess.
Re:... and AMD wouldn't even touch the info (Score:3, Insightful)
Let me explain further, the reason they both do this is because they want to maximize the profits on the research and development they have already done.
You release just enough technology to be the top contender now so that you reserve as much technology as possible to sell later. The longer you can profit on any given technology without releasing more the better.
Re:... and AMD wouldn't even touch the info (Score:5, Insightful)
The basic formula is this: Low integrity loses you both customers and employees. That's not to say that you can't make a profit doing this, but it's the more difficult route.
And no, I'm not an owner or executive.
Re:... and AMD wouldn't even touch the info (Score:5, Insightful)
The basic formula is this: Low integrity loses you both customers and employees. That's not to say that you can't make a profit doing this, but it's the more difficult route.
Sadly, not true. Low integrity makes you a short-term profit, and selects for e kind of executive who moves to a new company before it's apparent that is company has no future.
Re:... and AMD wouldn't even touch the info (Score:5, Insightful)
I hate to burst your bubble,
But neither company is "decades" ahead.
Both are roughly 4-5 years ahead on transistor design, less so on architecture. Based on what I do know of business, if they were decades ahead on a product they would get it to market ASAP, not sit on it.
Any time you see a tech company "sitting" on something for a trade show, it's because they are still trying to get it to work as close to flawlessly as possible, not because they are hoarding technology.
Re:... and AMD wouldn't even touch the info (Score:3, Insightful)
You give the average working shmoe a lot of credit. That's a lot of evolution in just 6 years(Worldcom, June 2002). They got caught.
Hell, nowadays, getting caught doesn't even matter so much, as long as you have your army of lawyers pervert the law enough to justify you.
I don't think it's coincidence that most of the most successful/lucrative industries are the least integral (Law, Insurance, Entertainment, Politics, Oil).
Re:... and AMD wouldn't even touch the info (Score:3, Insightful)
A good example of this is Costco. A company run by a founder, a man who believes strongly in limiting profits to retain consumers. A man that believes in no restriction returns, even food. A man that believes a well paid employee is a happy and helpful employee. I see the difference every single time I go to Costco. You have a pleasant helpful staff, unlike stores like walmart where you are lucky to find anyone. You have customers like myself who don't worry too much about the prices because I know I'm not paying more than 10% above Costco's cost and spend in excess of 5 figures a year there. Wall Street loves to hound him in the quarterly calls about raising prices or membership fees to increase returns, his response is that raising prices is a seductive path to slow growth.
The short term growth model wall street has developed over the past 20-30 years doesn't mean all companies are like that. In fact find the companies that aren't and invest in them, because their long term growth will surpass any short term profit seeker by leaps and bounds. Costco alone is making serious returns that exceed market average because the CEO doesn't follow the path to easy profit which destroy long term growth. Invest in those companies now and sell them when the short term profit CEO eventually gets hired and you will retire early, I guarantee it.
Re:... and AMD wouldn't even touch the info (Score:3, Insightful)