Apple’s trade secret lawsuit against Oppo over Apple Watch health-sensing technology is going ahead. A federal judge in California has turned down every attempt to get the case thrown out.
In a six-page order dated September 30, 2026, U.S. District Judge Eumi Lee denied three motions to dismiss. They came from Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp., Ltd., InnoPeak Technology, Inc., and former Apple engineer Chen Shi. The case is filed in the Northern District of California under case number 25-cv-07105.
Judge Lee rejected all three arguments for dismissing the case
Apple’s second amended complaint accuses Shi of breaching his confidentiality agreement. It also accuses Oppo, InnoPeak and Zijing Zeng, who heads Oppo’s health division, of trade secret misappropriation under the Defend Trade Secrets Act. The defendants asked the court to dismiss those claims with prejudice, and the judge said no on each one.
- Breach of contract (Shi): Shi argued Apple had not shown a breach or damages, and that his agreement is void because it blocks him from working in his field. The judge found Apple’s allegations detailed enough and said the agreement cannot be voided as a matter of law.
- Trade secret ownership (Oppo, InnoPeak and Zeng): The defendants said Apple had not properly identified a trade secret. The judge ruled that Apple named specific technology and files, which is enough at this stage.
- Indirect misappropriation (Zeng): The defense called the recruitment of Shi standard hiring. Judge Lee said she cannot settle that kind of factual dispute this early.
The technology in Apple’s complaint covers temperature sensors, ECG functionality and PPG sensors on Apple Watch. Oppo and the other defendants can still argue that none of it counts as a trade secret, but the judge said that is a question of fact for a later stage.
Shi’s argument that the agreement stops him from working as a health-sensing engineer did not land either. Judge Lee noted the agreement does not bar him from that field, or from working for Oppo or InnoPeak. It prohibits using or disclosing information that is not generally known outside Apple.
Apple says Chen Shi downloaded 63 documents three days before he left
According to Apple’s complaint, Shi downloaded 63 documents from a protected Box folder late at night, three days before leaving the company. He then moved them to a USB drive one day before his departure.
Apple also says he set up dozens of one-on-one meetings with Apple Watch technical team members. The goal was to learn about ongoing work on optical sensors, temperature sensors and ECG sensors.
After leaving, Shi allegedly presented some of that information to hundreds of Oppo and InnoPeak engineers. Apple says Zeng encouraged the presentation and pitched it as a chance to learn how Apple’s sensors are developed. Apple made the same point about Oppo’s internal talk last October. In return, the complaint says, the defendants offered Shi a job and a generous salary. All of the defendants vigorously contest these claims.
Apple says it has invested hundreds of millions of dollars to improve Apple Watch features. Judge Lee agreed that the damage claim holds up for now, since sharing that information could let competitors unfairly compete against Apple.
Oppo, InnoPeak and Shi have until October 21, 2026 to respond
Apple first sued Oppo and the ex-employee in August 2025. Apple is also in a separate trade secrets fight with OpenAI, where OpenAI has asked a court to dismiss the case.
Every defendant in the Oppo case now has to file a responsive pleading by October 21, 2026. That filing is where they set out their formal defenses to Apple’s claims. The order does not set a trial date.
